Naruto: Kyle's Story
by Marioninja1
Summary: This story follows Kyle, a new member of Team Kakashi. The summary and title sucks, as always. Read and Review please.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I just gotta say this before the story begins: this fanfiction doesn't match up with any of the story. In fact, I'll probably use villains that are living/dead already, so...yeah.**

**-MN1**

Our main character is named Kyle. He is an orphan who recently moved to Konohagakure to train with Team 7, also known as Team Kakashi.

"So, you're new here, huh?" Ayame asked.

Kyle nodded, his mouth full of the stand's delicious ramen. Kyle swallowed and said "I had to be moved here. Where I come from doesn't have high-skilled students like me."

"Well, you'll find plenty of equally-skilled ninja here. We've seen it all." The guy who ran the stand said.

"Like what?" Kyle asked.

"Everything." The guy said. Kyle dropped a few coins on the table and stood.

"Thanks for the ramen. It's fantastic." Kyle said. Kyle had blue eyes and brown hair, with long bangs that framed his face. Kyle wore a white shirt, a brown trench coat with the collar pulled up, blue pants, and sandals.

A man walked up to the ramen stand, with two students to his left and right.

"Have we kept you waiting?" Kakashi asked.

"Nah." Kyle shrugged. "Just finished my ramen, actually."

"You should've waited." Kakashi said. "Naruto always eats ramen when we come near this place."

"Great." Kyle sighed. "Hello, Sakura." Kyle said, looking at the girl with pink hair.

"Aren't you going to say 'hello' to Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"Naruto's too busy drowning himself in his ramen to say 'hello' back." Kyle said. "And I know who Naruto is, already."

"How do you know Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Intuition." Kyle said.

"Do you know what that means?" Sakura asked.

"I'll get a dictionary later." Kyle said. "Speaking of getting things, I need to find somewhere to live."

"Don't you have any family?" Sakura asked.

"No, Miss inquisitive. They all died." Kyle said. It was true: they were all dead. But they abandoned me first.

"When do you want to start training?" Kakashi asked.

"Whenever you're willing to train me." Kyle said.

"Would you answer a question directly?" Sakura asked.

"Yes." Kyle smiled. "I just did. Happy?"

Sakura's face said that no, she was not happy.

"We'll do a simple mission, since you've already had your training. C-Rank isn't too hard, is it?" Kakashi asked.

"When you see me fight, you'll be willing to let me do any rank there is." Kyle said.

"You sound like Naruto." Sakura said.

Kyle heard Naruto stop slurping his ramen and turned to say 'hi'. Naruto didn't hear Kyle, though, because as soon as Kyle opened his mouth Naruto burped loudly.

'Wonderful.' Kyle thought.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto shouted, sticking his hand out.

Kyle shook it. "I'm Kyle."

"Kyle? What kind of name is that?" Sakura asked.

"You've asked me around eighty questions." Kyle informed her. "Naruto hasn't even asked one."

"Why do you look like Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know who that is," Kyle lied.

"You're lying." Sakura said.

Kyle turned. "I'm on your team, alright? Don't get suspicious of me already. What's our mission?"


	2. Chapter 2

The team's mission was fairly simple: find a man and kill him. It wasn't a C-Rank, actually, but Kakashi figured that, since Kyle would be with him, Naruto, and Sakura, Kyle would be fine. Tea,m 7 ran through a forest, going to where the target's camp was rumored to be.

"Naruto," Sakura said. "I don't trust Kyle."

"Tell me about it. I think me might be an assassin or something." Naruto said.

"How does he know you and Sasuke? He's a bad liar." Sakura said.

"Personally, I think being a bad liar is a good trait." Kyle said.

"How'd you hear us?" Naruto asked, shocked.

"Here's a hint: shouting over the wind so Sakura can hear you? Yeah, that helps me hear you too," Kyle said. "Same goes for Sakura."

"We're here." Kakashi said. Surprisingly enough, the man was waiting for us.

Naruto landed, then stood, pointed at the man and shouted "We're here to assassinate you!"

"And, as you can see, we're doing stealthily." Kyle said sarcastically.

The man didn't move.

Kyle tossed a shuriken at him, slicing his arm open. The target didn't move, or even acknowledge that he was hurt. The team knew something was up, but Naruto ran forward, too impulsive to sense something was wrong, and hit the target in the face. Kakashi ran forward, shouting "Naruto!" Kakashi grabbed Naruto and pushed him a few feet from where the target was. The target exploded, and a teenager walked from the forest, smirking.

"That's Sasuke..." Sakura said.

"Huh. I _do_ look like him." Kyle said.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"This was a trap." Sasuke said.

"Oh, wow, thanks." Kyle said, coating his words in sarcasm. "We _totally_ couldn't see that!"

Sasuke looked at Kyle and said "You look like me."

"Jeez, I hope not. You're ugly." Kyle smiled.

Sasuke did a few hand movements, then shot fire at Kyle. Kyle, however, deflected it with his own fire.

"Nice try," Kyle smiled.

"Why are you so sarcastic?" Sasuke asked.

"Why are so emo?" I asked. "Your mommy die?"

Sasuke ran forward, slicing at Kyle with a knife. Kyle dodged it easily.

"Mine did too, but orphaned me first." Kyle said, grabbing Sasuke's arm.

"How are you-!" Sasuke saw Kyle's eyes. "Sharingan? But how!"

"So much for being mysterious," Kyle sighed. Kyle let Sasuke escape from his grasp, and Sasuke jumped back, furious.

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded.

"Kyle," Kyle said. "You're illegitimate brother." Kyle never knew his mother, though he knew his father was Sasuke's. Kyle imagined, though, that his mother was a kind woman who died, rather than a woman who abandoned him.

"What?" Everyone but Kakashi shouted.

"We look alike because of family resemblance, and I can use the sharingan because I have Uchiha blood." Kyle said, completely serious.

Sasuke looked at Kyle angrily, and began to walk backwards, into the forest.

"I'll kill you for your lies," Sasuke said.

'In denial about his relation to Kyle?' Kakashi thought. 'It's fairly obvious that they're related: Kyle looks like Sasuke and can turn the sharingan on and off.'

Kyle's eyes changed back into their usual blue color and walked back to his team, frowning.

"Why didn't you tell us that you were related to Sasuke sooner?" Sakura asked.

"We've known each other for an hour, at most." Kyle said. "How could I have told you sooner?"

"Why aren't we going after him?" Naruto asked.

"We need to find out more about our new member before we can fight." Kakashi said.


	3. Chapter 3

The trip back to Konohagakure was a silent one. Then, suddenly, Kakashi broke the silence.

"Where did you live before you moved here?" Kakashi asked.

"A small village you wouldn't have heard of." Kyle said. "I was moved here because they had no idea how to teach me."

"How long have you known you were an Uchiha?" Sakura asked.

"My whole life." Kyle said. "I've had my sharingan since a man tried killing me in the orphanage. I barely escaped with my life."

"What did the man look like?" Kakashi asked.

"I can tell you who he is. Itachi Uchiha. He probably found out there were two living Uchiha, not just one, and tried to kill me." Kyle said. "I've been thinking about why thing in my life happen nonstop. I've thought of every reason Itachi would try to kill me, and decided that he knew I was an Uchiha was the most reasonable."

"You should find somewhere to live. We could really use you on the team." Kakashi said.

"Thanks." Kyle said.

_Back in Konohagakure._

The team landed, and went their separate ways: Sakura and Naruto went to their homes, while Kakashi went to tell Tsunade of Kyle's heritage. Kyle walked around the village, asking where he could find an apartment.

"Excuse me, do you know how to find an apartment around here?" Kyle asked a pretty girl.

"Y-yes." The girl said, blushing. Her name was Hinata Hyuga.

"Thanks so much." Kyle smiled. "I'm Kyle."

"I-I'm Hinata H-Hyuga." Hinata said. "D-Do you h-have a l-last name?"

Kyle thought about it. "If I did, it'd be Uchiha."

"U-Uchiha?" Hinata wondered, then said "Y-You look a-a lot like S-Sasuke."

Kyle wondered if he should tell a complete stranger about his family. 'Why not,' Kyle reasoned. 'She was nice to me. Might as well be nice to her.'

"I'm Sasuke's half-brother, and I'm in Team 7." Kyle said.

"T-The one N-N-Naruto's in?" Hinata asked.

"Yep. Why'd you stutter twice times saying Naruto's name, while you usually only stutter once?" Kyle asked.

"N-N-N-No I d-d-d-d-didn't!" Hinata said, her face turning completely red.

"Sure. Hey, did you know your eyes are really cool?" Kyle asked, changing the subject.

"T-Thanks." Hinata said. "D-Do you w-want to f-follow me t-to the a-apartments?"

"If you'd lead me there I'd be grateful." Kyle said.

_Across Konohagakure._

"Being Sasuke's half-brother may become a problem." Kakashi said to Tsunade.

"They-presumably-never met before, so how could it?" Tsunade asked.

"It's better to be safe than sorry." Kakashi said. "And there are still several things we don't know about Kyle, like how he has any money."

"How does that matter?" Tsunade asked.

"Hm." Kakashi though, then said "I'll bring Kyle here, then. You can meet him yourself."

"Where does he live?" Tsunade asked.

"He doesn't have a home yet. Kyle mentioned that he needed to find one." Kakashi said.

"Find out where he lives, then." Tsunade said.

Kakashi nodded, then left.

This may be a good time, as a narrator, to remind you that Kyle was a terrible liar; he was a good card player, though.

This may also be a good time to remind you that Tsunade was, is, and always will be addicted to gambling in any shape or form, and that she is extremely unlucky at all of her tries at gambling.

Put two and two together, and you get four.

**A/N: I like that last part. :P**

**-MN1**


	4. Chapter 4

Kakashi walked through the streets, his nose in his favorite books series, though he also tried to keep an eye out for Kyle; an impressive feat considering he has one eye covered up.

Hinata walked by, and Kakashi decided to ask her. "Hello, Hinata. Do you know who Kyle is?"

"Y-Yes. I h-helped him f-find an a-apartment." Hinata said. "W-Why?"

"Tsunade needs to see him. Thank you for your help." Kakashi said.

"I-Is he i-in any t-trouble?" Hinata asked.

"We're a bit worried about him. I doubt it'll amount to anything." Kakashi said. "Where does he live?"

"T-Two streets d-down, the s-second door o-on the r-right. H-He lives i-in room f-fifteen." Hinata said.

"Thank you." Kakashi said, and walked to Kyle's room.

_After Kyle and Kakashi got to Tsunade._

"Have you ever met Sasuke?" Tsunade asked.

"No." Kyle answered.

"Do you hate him?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Do you know you're the second-last Uchiha alive?"

"Yeah. It sucks, I can tell you that." Kyle said. "Why am I here?"

"We need to see where your loyalties are." Kakashi said.

"And getting in a knife-fight with Sasuke didn't show where they were?" Kyle asked.

"Stop being sarcastic." Tsunade said.

"So, you're Tsunade?" Kyle asked, taking a deck of poker cards out of his pocket.

"Yes." Tsunade said.

"I challenge you to a game of blackjack. I win, you don't question my loyalty. You win, I sit at home until you decide I can be trusted. Whenever that is." Kyle said.

"Tsunade..." Kakashi cautioned.

"What harm can one card game do?" Tsunade asked.

'Great,' thought Kyle. 'Taking advantage of a woman who has no luck at all.'

"But I won't be playing. I'm much too busy. Kakashi, please play in my place." Tsunade said, standing up and letting Kakashi sit opposite to Kyle.

'Back-stabbing, giant-breasted whore!' Kyle thought.

"If you insist." Kakashi said, showing off his sharingan.

"I'll deal." Kyle said, shuffling the card deck. Kyle dealt the cards, and looked at his. A three and a seven.

Kakashi looked at his cards, quickly counting them. He had a four and a one.

"Want another card?" Kyle asked.

"Hit me." Kakashi said, and Kyle gave him a new card: a seven. That made twelve.

Kyle gave himself another card. A two, making Kyle have twelve cards.

"Oooh! This is getting interesting." Tsunade said, running between each side of the table.

"Hit me." Kakashi said, and Kyle gave him another card: an eight.

Kyle drew a card, and smiled. "Huh. A perfect twenty-one."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "That's not possible."

"'Possible' and 'probable' are two different things." Kyle said. "I assume no nines were drawn, so I had a fair chance of getting a nine."

Kakashi frowned, and said "I fold. You win."

Kyle stood and picked up his cards when Tsunade roughly grabbed him around the wrist.

"Drop them." Tsunade said. Kyle did as she said, revealing that he had gotten a ten. Kyle had lost, but bluffed his way out of losing, causing Kakashi to lose.

"I thought you were a bad liar." Kakashi said.

"Lying to a person for no reason and lying to someone to win a card game are two different things, Kakashi." Kyle said, putting the cards up. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"A deal's a deal." Kakashi said, hiding his sharingan eye again. Kyle left, and Tsunade asked a question she'd been meaning to the whole game.

"Did he cheat?" Tsunade asked.

"When?" Kakashi asked.

"When shuffling the deck." Tsunade said.

Kakashi didn't answer for a while, then said "No. He thought about it, even when I was using my sharingan, but stopped himself."

"What does that mean?" Tsunade asked.

"It means Kyle's honorable. He knows that he could lie to win, or use his skills to win." Kakashi said. "Knowing the difference is easy, but taking the hard way, using your skills to win, is the way many avoid. Kyle, however, avoids cheating, taking the road less traveled by. Kyle deserves to be on Team 7, I'm sure of it."

Tsunade nodded, smiling. "I can't wait to see what Kyle can do."

"Neither can I." Kakashi said, and left.

**A/N: I'm trying (and succeeding, if only in small amounts) to make these chapters longer. I think it'll be easier when the story really gets going and the team goes on missions.**

**-MN1**


	5. Chapter 5

As I am a narrator, I feel that I should tell you about the family Kyle's mother belonged to (even though Kyle himself does not know who her family was.) Kyle's mother was the single girl in a family consisting of five children, one mother, and one father. The family is a very respected family that has a photographic memory of jutsu. That is, whenever members of the family perform a jutsu, they remember how to do it until they die. Paired with the sharingan, this makes Kyle a very useful member of a team. Or it would, if he knew that he could, in fact, remember every jutsu he copied. As this chapter truly begins, Sakura and Kyle are in the woods, waiting for Naruto and Kakashi to arrive.

"So, you met Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah." Kyle nodded. "She's a nice girl, but very shy. Not too hard to look at, either."

"Is that all you think about?" Sakura asked.

"Do you ask more questions than normal sentences?" Kyle said, and quickly moved his hands, shooting fire in the air. "Fire! To begin whipping dance of the dead! Blackened is the end!" Kyle shouted, throwing up devil horns and banging his hand as the fire disappeared.

"What are you shouting?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing." Kyle smiled.

**A/N: Kyle's going to reference things in our world throughout the series. However, the other characters have no idea what he's talking about. Screw the fourth wall! -MN1**

"I'm bored." Sakura said.

"Tell me about it." Kyle said, laying down on the ground in the shade of the tree. Unbeknownst to Kyle and Sakura, a few ninja were watching from a spot across from them. "Did you hear about what happened to me yesterday?"

"No." Sakura said.

"I had to play cards against Kakashi to stay in the team. Well, I didn't _have_ to, but I did." Kyle said, putting his hands behind his head.

"Did you cheat?" Sakura asked. 'I bet you did.' Inner Sakura said.

"No." Kyle said. "I was completely honest. Up until I bluffed that I had a twenty-one, getting Kakashi to fold."

"You said you were a bad liar." Sakura said.

"Unless I'm playing cards." Kyle said. "I learned how to bluff from some of the kids at the orphanage, the ones that lived on the streets before the orphanage took them in."

"Huh." Sakura said. "What jutsu do you know?"

"A few fire jutsu. Not many." Kyle said, then saw the ninja standing a few feet away from the trees. Kyle stood up, and Sakura did, too.

"There's three of them." Sakura said. And, indeed, there were: there was a purple-haired girl with her bangs covering her eyebrows, a giant man with a goatee, and a skinny, tall teenager.

"You want the big one, or the small one?" Kyle asked, his eyes changing to sharingan. Kyle looked at Sakura, and, for just a moment, Sakura saw Sasuke in Kyle's determined face. Even this split second was enough to take her breath away. "Sakura? You okay?" Kyle asked.

"Huh? Oh. I'm fine. I'll take the big one. I'm good at taijutsu." Sakura said, focusing on fighting.

"Then you'll want to see the real enemies, not these logs." Kyle said, shooting flame at the ninja walking towards them. Just as Kyle suspected, the ninja in front of them were fake.

"How did he know?" The skinny enemy asked.

The big guy shrugged.

"Does it matter?" The purple-haired girl asked.

"They're from the sound village, Sakura." Kyle said.

"Huh. Trench coat's smart, isn't he?" Purple said.

Big guy chuckled. It was easy to see he wasn't the smart one.

"Sakura, is big and dumb your type? Or are you just taking whatever single man you find?" Kyle smiled.

Sakura smiled. "I think I'll stay single for a bit."

"Well, at least let him have a dance." Kyle said, and charged at the skinny kid.

"Bad idea, trench coat." Skinny kid said, and quickly made hand-signs, his mouth opened. A giant screech shot from his mouth, knocking Kyle back, his ankles flying over his head.

"Kyle!" Sakura shouted.

"I'm fine!" Kyle shouted. "Get big 'un!"

Sakura nodded, determined, and tackled the big man. The "big 'un," as Kyle called him, was taken by surprise that a teenager could tackle him and get any result other than hurt.

"Guess you're ours, trench coat." Purple said.

"Yep. I have to say, I'd like to see you alone. But if you're boyfriend wants to watch, it's fine by me." Kyle smiled, knowing what he said would anger the purple haired girl. Purple charged at him, like Kyle expected she would, and he quickly did a few hand signs, and the screech that Skinny used a few moments ago emanated from Kyle, causing Purple to fly back.

Sakura's fight wasn't going as well: big 'un was a stronger fighter than Sakura expected, and they were equally matched...at the moment. Sakura smashed the ground, but big 'un jumped up and brought his foot down where Sakura had been a second ago. Big 'un looked around for the pink-haired teen, and, just as he looked behind him got a fist to the face.

"You gotta fight better than that if you want to win!" Sakura said, smiling.

Big 'un rubbed his nose with the back of his hand and frowned when he saw his own blood. Big 'un ran at Sakura, knocking the teen down.

Kyle saw this, and tried to get to Sakura, but Skinny stood in the way.

Skinny quickly moved his hands, performing a jutsu. Kyle, however, copied him, and they both screeched at the same time. They were both locked in a jutsu: if one of the ninja stopped, even for a moment, they would be blown back. If Skinny was blown back, Kyle would help Sakura. If Kyle was blown back, Sakura would get hurt.

Kyle felt his throat begin to hurt, and Skinny smiled. Kyle wanted to spit fire at Skinny, but the oxygen produced by Skinny's screeching would blow the fire back at Kyle, and he'd fly back _and_ be burnt to ash.

Purple began to stand, and saw that her friends were going to win when, suddenly, her friends stopped. The timing was perfect, as, as that moment, Kyle ran out of air and had to stop screeching.

"Huh?" Sakura asked as big 'un let go of her.

Kyle, unable to talk, just followed the shadows.

"How tiresome." A teenager yawned.

**A/N: If you want any couples, say so in the comments. I'd appreciate it (a lot.)**

**-MN1**


	6. Chapter 6

"Shikamaru!" Sakura said. "Where did you come from?"

"I heard the fight, and came to help." Shikimaru said as Ino and Choji walked out from the forest.

"Who are these guys?" Choji asked.

"Who's this guy? He looks like Sasuke." Ino said.

Kyle rolled his eyes, wanting to say 'Next time somebody says I look like Sasuke I'm going to hit them.'

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

Kyle touched his throat, and pointed to Skinny.

"We were screeching at each other, using one of my jutsu. Trench coat's throat couldn't handle it." Skinny said, unable to move.

"How could he copy your jutsu?" Ino asked.

Kyle pointed at his eyes, showing that he had sharingan.

"He's an Uchiha? How's that possible?" Ino asked.

'When a mommy and a daddy love each other very much...' Kyle thought with a smirk.

"He's half Uchiha. His name is Kyle." Sakura said.

Kyle nodded.

"Let me heal your throat." Ino said.

"No, I'll do it." Sakura said.

"No, I will."

"I will!"

"No, I'm going to!"

Kyle put his face in his palm as the girls fought, then stood and stood between them. Kyle hit his hand against his palm three times, then made a fist, then flattened his hand, and, finally, made scissor motions.

"Oh! You want us to choose by using rock, paper, scissors!" Ino said.

Kyle nodded.

"Alright." Ino said.

Sakura grumbled that playing rock, paper, scissors was childish.

'Not as childish as fighting over who heals me.' Kyle thought.

"I win!" Sakura laughed.

"What happened to 'rock, paper, scissors is childish'?" Ino asked.

"Go pout, I win." Sakura said.

Kyle glared at her.

"Sorry, jeez." Sakura said. "Stand still."

Kyle did as she said, and in a few moments he could talk again.

"Thanks." Kyle said, smiling. "I'm Kyle Uchiha, as Sakura said, and I'm half Uchiha."

"Kyle is a weird name." Choji said.

"Yeah, and I look like Sasuke. I've heard these things before." Kyle said, looking at Shikamaru's team differently now that his throat wasn't on fire. 'Whoa! Ino's freakin' hot!' Kyle thought, then walked up to Skinny, who still wasn't moving.

"Why did you attack Sakura and me?" Kyle said, then corrected himself. "Sakura and I. 'Sakura and me' isn't correct grammar."

"You're a nutcase." Skinny said.

"Who else would wear a trench coat in such warm weather?" Kyle smiled. "Are you guys mercenaries or something?"

"No, we're fighting you because someone kidnapped my baby sister and said they wanted you dead or they'd kill her!" Purple shouted, crying.

"What's your name?" Kyle asked.

"Aneko." Purple said. Her eyes were a stunning brown.

"Alright, Aneko with purple hair. Where did they take her?" Kyle asked.

"My hair is lavender." Aneko said. "It's a common mistake saying that it's purple."

"Oh. Sorry. Your hair is a lovely color, honestly. It's a lot better than this dull brown hair I have. I mean, look at Sakura and Ino. They're hair looks so good, then you see me, with brown hair-" Kyle said.

"Thanks a lot, Kyle." Choji said. Shikamaru yawned, as if in agreement. But Kyle didn't even hear them; Sakura is the one that caused him to stop chatting to Aneko.

"Are you seriously talking to someone who tried killing you a few seconds ago?" Sakura asked.

"It doesn't sound like she has a choice, Sakura." Kyle said. "Aneko, do you know where your sister is?"

"No." Aneko said.

"Shikamaru, let them move around again." Kyle said.

"Alright. I was getting tired, anyways." Shikamaru said, letting the sound villagers go.

"Thanks." Aneko said.

"So, who took your sister?" Kyle asked.

"I did." Someone said, appearing in a cloud of smoke near where the others were standing. Kyle frowned.

"Half-brother! How's it going?" Kyle turned, smiling.

"You're not my brother!" Sasuke shouted. Kyle froze when he saw the little girl Sasuke was holding, a knife to her throat.

"You've gone crazy!" Sakura said.

Kyle clenched his fists, looking Sasuke straight in the eye. "What are you going to do, Sasuke?"

"Whatever I want." Sasuke said.

"Why are you doing this?" Kyle asked, hesitantly approaching Sasuke.

"I want you to say that you're not part of the Uchiha clan." Sasuke growled.

"What difference will it-" Kyle began.

"Say it!" Sasuke said, clenching the knife closer to the little girl's throat.

Kyle swallowed, then ran forward.


	7. Chapter 7

It's not known what caused Kyle to charge forward, or why he thought it was a good idea, but Kyle ran forward with all of his might, throwing a shuriken at Sasuke's hand. The shuriken knocked the knife out of Sasuke's hand, and Sasuke was so surprised that he didn't reach for it; a large mistake. Kyle quickly performed a screeching jutsu, but held his mouth closed, so he didn't hit the kid, still running at Sasuke. Then, when he reached Sasuke, he put his hands over the little girl's ears, kicked Sasuke in the groin, and opened his mouth, the screech hitting Sasuke directly in the face.

The problem with this insane tactic, however, was that the screech jutsu was supposed to be performed at medium-to-long ranges; performing it that close inevitably led to some of the sound blasting back at you. So, when the sound villagers saw Kyle perform the jutsu so close, they knew his ears would bleed. When Sasuke and Kyle flew back, Kyle flying backwards towards the other ninja while Sasuke flew back into the woods, they were worried for Aneko's sister. Kyle rolled along the ground, his back taking a large beating, and when he stopped rolling the others ran to him while Sakura and Shikamaru ran for Sasuke.

"Sis!" They heard someone shout. It sounded like it was coming from Kyle...no, _under_ Kyle!

Kyle rolled over, revealing a little girl with lavender hair and giant brown eyes.

"I think I cracked a rib." Kyle groaned. "And my ears feel like they've exploded."

"Your ears are bleeding, kid." Big 'un said, watching the little girl run to her sister. "The screeching jutsu isn't supposed to be used close to your enemy."

"You can talk?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah." Big 'un said, hugging the little girl. "Thank you for getting my daughter back, kid."

"No problem, mister." Kyle said, struggling to get up. "Sorry for breaking your nose."

"We _were_ trying to kill you." Skinny said. "Hey, how'd you do the screeching jutsu?"

"I dunno." Kyle said.

"You don't have your sharingan on, and Sasuke doesn't know that jutsu." Ino said.

"Hm. I know of a family that can do things like that. If they're taught a jutsu they'll remember it until they die." Big 'un said. "Do you belong to them?"

"I'm an orphan," Kyle said, standing up with difficulty. "I don't have a family."

"You must've had a mother, and I know one of the women in the clan. She had a child, but-" Big 'un began.

"I don't want to see her. Maybe later, but not right now." Kyle said. "Hey, Ino, are my ribs cracked?"

Ino pulled up Kyle's shirt, looking at his stomach, and then his back. "You have a few bruises, but no broken bones."

"Thanks." Kyle said.

"Sasuke's gone." Sakura said, coming back to the group. "You okay, Kyle?"

"Yeah." Kyle said.

"Man, this was way too tiresome." Shikamaru yawned.

"You need to, like, drink some coffee, dude." Kyle said. Before Shikamaru could say anything back, though, Kakashi and Naruto came from the forest.

"What happened here?" Kakashi asked.

"We were attacked, Kakashi." Kyle said, wiping blood from his ears. "Sasuke kidnapped Aneko's sister, then tried attacking us. The sound villagers helped us, but Sasuke escaped. We saved Aneko's sister, though."

Everyone knew Kyle lied, but didn't say anything. Kyle was a bad liar, but Kakashi didn't look into it.

"Alright then. Which way did he go?" Kakashi asked.

"West." Sakura said.

"Hm. I'll tell Tsunade soon." Kakashi said.

"If I was here, I bet Sasuke wouldn't have gotten away." Naruto said, smiling.

"Sure," Sakura rolled her eyes. "Kyle, apparently, remembers every jutsu he copies."

"That'll prove useful." Kakashi said, then turned to the sound villagers. "Do you have a way home?"

"Yes." Big 'un said.

"I'm not going home." Aneko said.

Big 'un and Skinny looked her. "What are you talking about?"

"I owe a debt to Kyle and Sakura, and I'm going to pay that debt. I've already had training, and my sound jutsu can come in handy." Aneko said. "I mean, Kyle already used one of them, so he can tell you how useful they are."

"They are useful, but I don't know how to use the one I actually do have." Kyle said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just look at my ears."

"That's another reason I should stay." Aneko said. "I'll teach Kyle how to use sound jutsu so he doesn't deafen himself."

"Or worse." Sakura said. "Kakashi-sensei, I think Aneko staying here is a good idea."

"If you want to, and they let you stay, I won't object." Big 'un said.

"It's up to you, Kakashi." Aneko said.

"Hm. If we're allowed a new team member, I'll let you stay." Kakashi said.

"Thank you," Aneko smiled.

"So, Kyle, are you doing anything later?" Ino asked, causing Sakura to glare at her. Ino ignored her, instead paying attention to Kyle

"No." Kyle said. "Do you wanna do something later?"

"Oh, I don't know. You're new around her, right? How about we go sight-seeing, and maybe buy some clothes?" Ino said.

"Sounds great." Kyle said.

"Do you have the money for it?" Ino asked.

"Yeah." Kyle smiled.

"You know, you never said how much you had or how you got it." Sakura said.

"You're right, I didn't." Kyle said. "So, how about tomorrow?"

Ino smiled. "See you there."

"C'mon Ino!" Choji said. "We're leaving!"

"By Kyle." Ino said, then walked off. Kyle watched her walk off, smiling.

"I don't like her." Sakura said.

"Yep." Kyle said, not listening.


	8. Chapter 8

Kyle walked to the flower shop, wondering what flowers to get for Ino. Roses, maybe? Or would that seem to sappy? Orchids might be nice, or maybe lilies. When Kyle got into the flower shop, he noticed that the shop was owned by the Yamanaka family, Ino's family.

'If she's here, pretend I'm here to take her on the date. If she's at home, bet her flowers and leave.' Kyle planned.

"Hello, young man." A woman said at the counter. Probably Ino's mom, Kyle guessed.

"Uh, hey. By any chance, are you Ino's mom?" Kyle asked.

"Yes. Are you Kyle?" Ino's mom asked.

"Yeah. I'm here to get some flowers for her. Do you know what Ino's favorite flowers are?" Kyle asked.

"She likes all flowers. Do you know that you look like Sasuke?" Ino's mom asked.

"I've been told." Kyle said, looking at a bouquet with roses and several other flowers in it.

"Not to sound rude, but Kyle is an odd name." Ino's mom asked.

"I know." Kyle said, picking up a bouquet. "How much will this cost?"

**A/N: I'm going to simple down the ryo so that one ryo is one dollar (I'm terrible at math.)**

**-MN1**

"Thirty ryo." Ino's mom said.

Kyle didn't flinch, dropping the coins down on the table. "Thank you."

Ino's mom blinked in surprise. "You must be rich if you'd buy thirty ryo flowers on the first date."

Kyle shrugged, smiling. "I think Ino's worth it. She's got really beautiful eyes."

_On the other side of Konohagakure._

Aneko was walking around Konohagakure when she saw Sakura.

"Hey Sakura!" Aneko smiled, walking over to her.

"Oh. Hey Aneko." Sakura smiled. "How are you settling in?"

"Pretty well, actually." Aneko said. "Where's Kyle?"

"On a date with Ino." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"What?" Aneko asked.

"He's been in Konohagakure for three days and Ino already asked him out, after knowing him for less than an hour." Sakura said.

"Can't blame Ino, though. Kyle's hot. Don't tell him I said that." Aneko smiled.

"Of course he's hot! He looks like Sasuke," Sakura blushed, realizing what she said.

"I didn't find Sasuke all that good-looking. He had a knife to my little sister's throat, though." Aneko said. "Wanna hang out?"

"Sure." Sakura said. "We'll have training tomorrow, after Kakashi-sensei's done talking to Tsunade."

"Good. I wanna show you some sound-village jutsu." Aneko smiled.

"I can't wait to see them." Naruto said, walking past.

"Oh. Hey, Naruto." Aneko said.

"'Sup." Naruto smiled. "Kyle with that Ino chick?"

"Yeah." Sakura said.

"Man, I can't believe me and Kakashi missed that fight!" Naruto said, sitting down beside Aneko.

"Where were you two, anyways?" Sakura asked.

"Kakashi said we should take out time," Naruto said. "Hey, Sakura, are you jealous that Ino's going out with Kyle?"

"What? No, of course not!" Sakura said, her face bright red. "He's so annoying!"

"I don't think he's that annoying. A smart aleck, maybe, but not annoying." Aneko said.


	9. Chapter 9

"How'd your date go?" Sakura asked Kyle, waiting for Kakashi and Naruto to arrive.

"Pretty good. I don't think we'll be seeing each other again, though." Kyle said.

"What happened?" Aneko asked.

Kyle shrugged.

"C'mon, don't be ambigous." Aneko said.

"I don't know. I want to see her again, but...y'know. I don't think we really connected." Kyle said.

"Enough of this sappy gossip!" Naruto shouted, running out of the trees. "Let's start training!"

Kyle sat up. "What are we doing today?"

"We're going to train you two," Kakashi said, reading his book. "Get the bells from my belt."

Kyle looked at the two silver bells on his sensei's belt, then at Naruto and Sakura's faces. "Oh. You're serious." Kyle said.

"I am. Sakura and Naruto will help me against you, Kyle. I think I can fend Aneko off by myself." Kakashi said.

"Aren't double-standards wrong?" I asked.

"You have the sharingan, and can remember every jutsu you copy." Sakura said. "The odds would be stacked against Kakashi without us."

"We think." Kakashi said. "We're not sure."

"Fair enough," Kyle said, his eyes changing into sharingan. "One at a time or all at once?"

"You won't have a chance either way." Naruto smiled.

"Oh really?" Kyle asked.

"Believe it!" Naruto shouted.

Kyle looked at Naruto, then Sakura, and, finally, the bells on Kakashi's belt, then said "I'm taking you out, then you, and then I'm taking those bells, without any help." Kyle said, pointing at Naruto, then Sakura, then the bells on Kakashi's belt. "Believe it." Kyle smiled.

Sakura smiled. Kyle was cute when he looked so serious, Sakura thought. And more like Sasuke, Inner Sakura said.

"Go!" Kakashi said, and Naruto and Sakura ran towards Kyle.

Kyle smiled, then quickly moved his hands. But before he could, Sakura hit him in the face, sending the Uchiha Clan member flying back.

"Ow." Kyle said jumping to his feet. Kyle quickly moved his hands, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Kakashi kept reading his books, seemingly oblivious to the fighting going on around him.

Naruto threw a shuriken at Kyle, who was standing in a tree, but the illusion revealed itself as a log.

"Where'd he go?" Naruto asked.

"Right here." Kyle shouted, immediately getting a shuriken thrown at him. Once again, it was an illusion.

Suddenly, Kyle appeared above Kakashi, his fist pulled back. Kakashi knocked him aside, revealing this illusion as Kyle's trench coat. The trench coat's upper half blocked Kakashi's view for a moment, enough for Kyle to nab the bells. But Kyle didn't.

"Where's Kyle?" Kakashi asked, slowly surveying their training grounds. Then, they saw Kyle. He was sitting under his favorite tree, in his favorite place. Kyle had a few beads of sweat on his forehead, and was only wearing his white shirt, blue pants, and sandals. When the team saw what he was twirling around, however, they all gasped.

"How-?" Sakura asked.

"No way!" Naruto said.

Kakashi reached down to where the bells should have been, but they, of course, weren't there.

"How did you get the bells?" Kakashi asked.

"When my coat blocked your vision, you thought I'd go for a straightforward attack. I came from behind, though, and grabbed them. Y'see, they were hanging off of your belt, so when you whirled around to toss my coat away they were airborne, so I could reach them easily." Kyle said, tossing the bells back to Kakashi.

"Hm. I thought you were more of a straightforward attacker." Kakashi said.

"Nah. I do whichever I feel like, like Ezio." Kyle said.

"Who?" Naruto asked.

"You wouldn't get it." Kyle said.

"You're up, Aneko." Kakashi said, tying the bells to his belt as Naruto and Sakura sat down beside Kyle and Aneko stood up.

"You can do it, Annie!" Kyle cheered.

"Annie?" Aneko asked.

"It's short, for Aneko. Go along with it." Kyle said.

Aneko shrugged, and said "I'm ready."


	10. Chapter 10

Kakashi expected a screeching jutsu from Aneko, but instead she moved her hands quickly, then stomped the ground. The jutsu strengthened sound-waves generated for as long as the user could keep it up, so, though useless for stealth, was good for straight-up attacking.

Aneko clapped, and Kakashi flew back, surprised. Aneko ran forward, jumped over Kakashi, and brought her feet down on the ground hard, cracking the earth and sending the rocks behind her-and, more importantly, under Kakashi,-into the air. Deciding that Kakashi was disoriented enough for her to grab for the bells, Aneko jumped into the air, reaching for the bells. Seconds before Aneko reached the bells, Kakashi slapped her hand away.

Aneko frowned, but didn't speak. The sound-waves generated from her talking could blow the teeth out of her head. Aneko took several shuriken and flicked each one, then tossed them, seemingly randomly. But, of course, it wasn't randomly; the sound-waves generated from her flicking them caused them to move, and Aneko had been trained to know how they would move with several different sound levels, cause by flicking them in a particular place.

For instance, the shuriken she threw to the left vibrated so that, by the time it hit the tree, the end that wasn't sharpened hit the tree, and the vibrations embedded it inside the tree, if only by an ant's length. The other shuriken the threw went over Kakashi, then hit a root inside the ground, embedding itself in an ant's length.

Aneko stomped the ground slightly, causing Kakashi to move slightly, causing the bells to go airborne, then she pulled on the wires she had attached to the shuriken, and they flew back. The one she threw to the left cut the strings of the bells, and the one embedded in the root hit the rings over the bells, bringing it to Aneko.

The most amazing part? The process took less than five seconds.

"Hm?" Kakashi looked down, seeing the cut strings.

Aneko undid the jutsu, then shook the bells. "I won." Aneko smiled.

"Whoa! That was awesome!" Naruto shouted.

"How'd you do that?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I was originally going to disorient Kakashi enough so that I could just grab the bells, but, using what Kyle said about the bells going airborne, I did this tactic dad taught me." Aneko said, then described the lengthy process.

"Whoa! Can you teach me that?" Naruto asked.

Aneko shook her head. "I don't think I'm good enough to be a teacher yet."

"Training's over for the day," Kakashi said, taking out his book.

"See ya'." Kyle said, walking home.

"Don't you want to get some ramen?" Sakura asked.

Kyle shrugged, putting his coat back on. "If you want me to be there."

"Sure." Naruto said.

"Uh, Kyle," Aneko said.

"Yeah?" Kyle smiled.

"There's something wrong with your coat." Aneko said. "Look at the shoulder of it."

Kyle did, and saw his white shirt through the giant cut. Kyle slumped forward. "Crap," He muttered.

"You probably needed a new jacket, anyways." Sakura said.

"I have no idea what people in Konohagakure wear." Kyle said.

"We'll help you get a new coat." Naruto said. "C'mon!"

"Alright," Kyle said, taking the coat off. "Bye, old friend." Kyle said, then tossed the coat into the air and quickly performed a fire jutsu. The coat was ash before it reached the ground.

"Are you crying?" Aneko asked.

"No. It's the ash." Kyle said, rubbing his eyes.

_After eating ramen and looking for nearly an hour for a coat._

Kyle looked at his hands. Or, rather, the coat his friends had gotten him to buy.

"You sure this looks good?" Kyle asked. The coat was black, and went an inch or two below Kyle's waist, while the collar went all around Kyle's face, and was just above his bottom lip. On the back, Kyle had paid twenty ryo for the Uchiha Clan sign to be put on the back.

"Yeah." Sakura said.

"I think it does too." Aneko said.

"Alright," Kyle said doubtfully, giving the two-hundred ryo to the shopkeeper.

"You know they don't give refunds on custom orders, right?" Sakura said as soon as Kyle left the store.

"If I didn't, I would now." Kyle said, then muttered "I can't believe I just bought a coat for two-hundred ryo on what my friends said."

"You know you love us!" Aneko smiled, ruffling Kyle's hair. Kyle quickly fixed it.

"So, what next? Going to get me to dye my hair black? Act emotionless?" Kyle asked, then noticed a certain blonde kid wasn't with them. "Where's N-" Kyle began, when Naruto ran around the corner.

"I was just in the forest, and Hinata's getting attacked!" Naruto shouted.

Kyle was gone before Sakura and Aneko knew how to react.


	11. Chapter 11

Kyle growled, too angry to speak. A man was standing, wearing an admittedly cool-looking jacket, with Hinata trying to crawl away from her. Hinata's had been using the gentle fist, but Kyle didn't notice the veins around Hinata's eyes. He was too fixated on the Akatsuki member holding a dagger.

"I'm Keiji." The man said. His eyes were an icy blue, and his hair was snow white.

"I'm Kyle Uchiha. 'Course, I'll have to change my name now." Kyle said.

"Why?" Keiji asked.

"Both of our names start with a 'K' and have an 'E,' and I don't think I could stand being similar to you in any way, shape, or form." Kyle said.

"I've judged this girl to be unworthy, so she must die." Keiji said.

"Right. Freak." Kyle said. "I'm going to get Hinata, and you'll die if you try to stop me."

"I won't die." Keiji said. "You will."

"Oh? And why is that?" Kyle asked, slowly moving to Hinata.

"Keira will kill you." Keiji said, and a dark-haired woman came out of the shadows. Her hair was dark-brown, and her eyes were blue, while her skin was a pale white.

"Who are you?" Kyle asked. Something about this woman, though, made him want to cry.

"Keira Meiki." Keira said. "Who are you?"

"Kyle Uchiha." Kyle said.

The woman's eyes went wide. Something in both Keira's and Kyle's head clicked.

"Mom?" Kyle shouted.

"Son?" Keira shouted.

**A/N: Right. I used a Japanese translator on the internet, and got 'Meiki' as a translation for 'remember' (because Kyle's mother's family can remember whatever jutsu they learn.) Don't hate me if it isn't correct. -MN1**

Sakura, Aneko, and Naruto ran for Kakashi, quickly telling him what happened.

"Who was attacking Hinata?" Kakashi asked, worried.

"He was in the Akatsuki. I don't know who he was, though." Naruto said.

"Does Kyle know that he was Akatsuki, or even who the Akatsuki are?" Kakashi asked.

"We don't know." Sakura said, holding back panic.

"Stay here. I'll alert Tsunade, then get Hinata's team, and we'll all attack at once." Kakashi said.

"Yes, sensei." Sakura said.

_In the forest._

While a large portion of Kyle wanted to run over and hug his mother, Kyle still crouched by the hurt Hinata. When Kyle tried to pick up Hinata, however, Keiji tossed a shuriken at him, cutting Kyle's cheek.

"Don't move her. She hasn't passed my judgment." Keiji said.

Kyle ripped his sleeves off, making his jacket a vest. "I never liked the sleeves anyways." Kyle said, wiping the blood of off Hinata's face, then pressing the cloth against her wounds. "I said I'd kill you if you try to stop me. I'm leaving here with Hinata."

"Why are you so attached to her?" Keiji asked.

"She helped me out. I want to consider her a friend, even though we haven't talked much." Kyle said. "So I'm gonna help her out."

"But that doesn't make sense." Keiji said.

"Screw sense and screw you." Kyle said. "I'll die to help Hinata, and I'll make sure to kill you and get her to help before I die."

Hinata, despite her wounds, blushed.

Keira finally spoke. "Would you leave your mother behind? You could join the Akatsuki, and be with your mother."

"I don't even know you." Kyle said. Kyle ripped two pieces of cloth that was pressed against Hinata's wounds and, after making sure they had no blood on them, put them in her ears. Hinata would've asked him what he was doing, but she trusted him. Then, Kyle picked her up, bridal style. What you couldn't have seen, however, was Kyle moving his hands under Hinata.

Keiji charged at the ninja, and Kyle screeched, the cloth in Hinata's ears keeping her from permanent hearing damage (though it would have given her an immediate headache, if she wasn't too worried about her other wounds to notice.)

Keiji flew back, smashing against a tree, as the rest of Team Kakashi and Team Kurenai ran out of the woods.


	12. Chapter 12

The Akatsuki members immediately began running, seeing they were outmatched. However, the two teams ran after them, not stopping for Hinata and Kyle.

"We're getting outta here, okay?" Kyle talked to Hinata, running towards the village.

"O-Okay." Hinata said.

"Do you know anybody who can heal you? Sakura ran off with the rest of my team, and I'd rather not see Ino again..."

"T-Tsunade." Hinata said, gritting her teeth against the pain.

"Alright then." Kyle said, nodding. "You'll be fine, okay?"

"O-Okay." Hinata said. "D-Do you r-really hate y-your mother?"

"I never met her before. And if she runs around with some guy, attacking girls, I can't say I even _want_ to meet her again." Kyle said.

"I-I know h-how that f-feels. M-My father d-doesn't like m-me." Hinata said.

"If I ever meet your father, I'll knock him out." Kyle said. "How can he _not_ like you?"

"Y-You haven't e-even seen m-me fight y-yet." Hinata said.

"How about when you get better you show me your mad Hyuga-Clan skills?" Kyle asked.

"A-Alright."

"Cool. Thanks." Kyle said.

_With Team Kakashi._

"Naruto, where's Kyle?" Kakashi asked.

"Huh?" The blonde teenager asked.

"I told you to get him. Where is he?" Kakashi asked.

"Uh-oh." Naruto said.

"He was holding Hinata last I saw, then he ran off when we got out of the forest." Sakura said.

"And nobody got him?" Kakashi asked.

"Sorry sensei." Sakura said.

"I just hope Kyle knows what to do." Kakashi said.

_Konohagakure_

Tsunade answered her door angrily.

"Why are you kicking my door?" Tsunade shouted, then saw Hinata.

"My hands are full. Now, please, heal Hinata, damn it." Kyle frowned.

_The two teams._

Keiji shot a dragon made of flame at Team Kakashi, who quickly dodged seconds before the flame scorched where they had been standing. Team Kurenai, however, were dealing with Keira, who was using a jutsu that shot needles of chakra at the team.

"Someone needs to stop this guy!" Naruto shouted.

"Give me a second!" Aneko shouted, quickly moving her hands. Then, Aneko screeched at Keiji the exact moment the flame coming out of Keiji's mouth reached her team. Aneko's jutsu shot the flame back at Keiji, burning him to a cinder.

Aneko turned, about to say something, when several chakra needles hit her, causing her to fly back.

"Aneko!" Naruto shouted, running after her. Sakura tried to tackle Keira, but she disappeared into thin air, chuckling.

"Sakura! Heal Aneko! Team Kurenai, stay here, just in case that Akatsuki woman comes back. I'll go see what happened to Kyle and Hinata." Kakashi said.

Kurenai nodded, then directed her team as Kakashi ordered.

Kakashi then ran towards Konohagakure, worried for the two teenagers.

_Tsunade's house._

Kyle sat in a chair, unable to sit still.

"Stop drumming your feet or I might heal something wrong." Tsunade said.

Kyle immediately stopped moving.

"Man, you're really freaking out. How do you know Hinata?" Tsunade asked.

"She helped me out once." Kyle said.

"So, not very well?" Tsunade said.

"Does it matter?" Kyle asked.

"Not really." Tsunade admitted, then sighed. "I'm done. Hinata'll be fine."

"Yeah!" Kyle shouted, jumping up and giving Tsunade a hug.

Tsunade blushed, then smiled.


	13. Chapter 13

_Three months after we left off._

"First, you do this..." Aneko said, showing Kyle how to do a jutsu that kept you from making sounds, an invaluable tool for stealth. "Then, this, and, finally, this."

"Alright, then." Kyle said, and performed it. Then, he mouthed 'am I stealthy yet?'

"You actually have to speak for me to know," Aneko giggled.

'I am speaking.'

"No, you're not. Your Adam's apple isn't moving."

'...You're too smart to prank.'

"Of course, I'm a girl." Aneko smiled.

'"Of course, I'm a girl."' Kyle said, though no sound came out.

"I knew you were a girl!" Aneko laughed, and Kyle face-palmed. "You performed the jutsu correctly."

'Fist-pump like a champion!' Kyle shouted.

"Um, Kyle, I have to ask you something." Aneko said.

'I'm all ears.' Kyle mouthed.

Aneko quickly deactivated the jutsu. Kyle frowned.

"That was cool! I was, like, playing Bowie in my head. Ground control to Major Tom!" Kyle sang.

Aneko looked at him oddly.

"Continue." Kyle said.

"Right. Well, if I like a boy and he doesn't notice, what should I do?" Aneko asked, obviously talking about how she was attracted to Kyle. Aneko had tried to ask Kyle out twice, and as Aneko spoke to Kyle she remembered them.

_Number one._

_ Aneko turned to Kyle, who was laying under his favorite tree in his vest._

_ "K-Kyle," Aneko said, getting the Uchiha's attention._

_ "'Sup?" Kyle asked._

_ "I have something important to tell you," Aneko said._

_ "I'm all ears, Annie." Kyle said, and Aneko smiled shyly at Kyle's pet name for her._

_ "I think I lov-"_

_ "Piss!" Kyle said, and jumped up into the tree. A few moments later Ino walked up to Aneko._

_ "Do you know where Kyle is? I want to ask him out," Ino said._

_ 'Can't take a hint, can she?' Kyle thought._

_ "Um...He went that way." Aneko pointed to the left._

_ "Thanks." Ino smiled, and walked off._

_ Kyle fell down, right where he was a moment ago, and asked "What's up?"_

_ Aneko sighed, losing her nerve. "Never mind."_

_Number two._

_ Aneko sat with Kyle and Naruto at the Ramen Stand, eating with them. When she finished her bowl, she turned to Kyle and said "Kyle, I need to talk to you."_

_ Kyle turned to her, wiping his mouth. "I'm-"_

_ "All ears." Naruto finished._

_ Kyle stared blankly at Naruto._

_ "Well, Kyle, I think I-" Aneko began when, suddenly, Rock Lee walked up to him._

_ "Sasuke! I wish to fight you!" Rock Lee shouted._

_ "Who are-" Kyle began when, suddenly, he was kicked in the nose. "AGH! Who are you!"_

_ "You are not Sasuke?" Rock Lee asked._

_ "Dude, would I be sitting here if I was!" Kyle shouted, holding his bloody nose._

_ Aneko sighed, putting her head in her hands._

"I like your hair. I mean, I got dull brown in a world with silver-haired people and lavender-haired people." Kyle said.

"Kyle! On focus!" Aneko said.

"Hey, you began daydreaming, and started talking about when we got interrupted." Kyle shrugged.

"That was out loud!" Aneko asked.

"Yeah. What were you going to tell me, by the way?" Kyle asked.

"Nothing." Aneko sighed.

"Just spit it out. It's not like we're going to get interrupted." Kyle said.

"Alright. I lo-" Aneko was interrupted by Keira walking from the forest, smiling. "AGH!" Aneko shouted, annoyed.


	14. Chapter 14

"Oh great. The one person I _don't_ wanna see around my favoritest homegirl." Kyle said.

"'Favoritest homegirl'?" Aneko asked.

"Haters gonna hate." Kyle shrugged.

"How are you doing, honey?" Keira smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Kyle asked, arms at his sides, ready to perform any number of jutsu.

"I wanted to give you a present. For your birthday."

"You were never around for any of the one before this."

"I don't think I should be here..." Aneko said, making to leave. Keira, however, had other plans, and stomped on the ground, a wall of dirt flying up and hardening an inch from Aneko's face.

"**Stay**." Keira commanded.

"Don't talk to Annie like that!" Kyle said.

"Don't talk to me like that!" Keira shouted.

"Oh jeez," Aneko said.

Suddenly, Keira pulled a kunai out and tried to stab Kyle in the stomach, but he roundhouse-kicked her in the mouth, and she fell back, bleeding.

"You brat!" Keira shouted.

Kyle quickly moved his hand, then stood still. Keira ran at him, punching him in the face, and, suddenly, the sound waves amplified, snapping the bones in her arm. One of the bones broke the skin, and she began bleeding.

Keira moved one hand, and a bright flash of light was shone directly in Kyle's face. Kyle fell back, screaming and scratching at his eyes, while Keira tried to run.

Aneko immediately ran after her, tackling her down, pinning her uninjured arm down, and taking a kunai out. Keira swung her hurt arm at Aneko, trying to stop her, but Aneko forced the kunai into her heart, killing Kyle's mother. Then, Aneko stood, splattered with blood, and ran over to Kyle. Seeing how hurt he was, she ran to the only healers she knew.

**A/N: I know this chapter is short, but that's on purpose: now, it's more suspenseful. On another note, I'm giving my protagonist more and more permanent injuries. And, on a final note, that review button is your friend, reviews are my friend, and if you review me you'll be my friend, too :).**

**-MN1**


	15. Chapter 15

"We did all we could," Tsunade said. She and Sakura had tried as hard as possible to heal Kyle, but they couldn't; he was permanently stuck with the sharingan. But, to conserve chakra, he would have to cover his eyes.

"Like Kakashi?" Naruto asked.

Sakura immediately hit him on the head. "This is serious, Naruto!"

"I don't think so." Kyle said, walking out. He wore his usual clothes, but he now had bandages over his eyes. When everyone was silent, he said, blushing "Is my zipper down?"

In spite of themselves, everyone laughed.

"No," Aneko laughed.

"Oh. Good." Kyle said. "What were you going to tell me out there, by the way?"

"Nothing." Aneko said.

"Please tell me. And don't walk off." Kyle said as Aneko began moving away.

"How'd you know?" Aneko asked, nearly out the door, about to cry.

"Well, I used to tie a black cloth over my eyes, so I could notice sound like you do. I got pretty good at it. Have to admit, I never thought I'd use it like this." Kyle said. "Did you get hurt, Annie?"

Aneko ran out the door crying. Kyle tried to follow, and ended up hitting his face on the wall.

"OW!" Kyle said. "Can someone lend a hand? I think I made her mad."

"She wasn't hurt," Tsunade said, sitting beside Kyle and holding his hand. "She killed Keira."

"Why's she upset, then?" Kyle asked, looking from where Tsunade's voice was coming from.

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded. "Stop waving your hand in front of his face!"

Kyle kicked where he thought Naruto was, and Kakashi shouted "That's me, Kyle!"

"Sorry, sensei. Someone bring Naruto over here." Kyle said.

"She's upset because you were blinded, Kyle." Tsunade said.

"Survivor's guilt? It's not her fault." Kyle said.

"She doesn't think that." Tsunade said.

"Could someone get me to her house? Or mine? This white bandage clashes with my vest." Kyle said.

"You know it's white?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. I saw it before it was put on." Kyle said. "Now, could someone hold my hand and take me home?"

Someone took Kyle's hand.

"I'll help you." Sakura said softly.

Kyle blushed, but, to distract himself, he asked Kakashi "When is the next training session?"

"You're going to keep training?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah. Faster I learn to fight blind the faster I go on missions." Kyle said.

"That's the spirit!" Naruto shouted, right beside Kyle's ear.

"Ow! I'm blind, not deaf." Kyle said.

_Aneko's house._

Aneko sat on her bed, crying. She blamed herself for Kyle's condition, and thought that she would never get on a date with him, not to mention the fact that she killed his mother. Suddenly, she heard a knock a door down the hallway.

"Is this Aneko's room?" She heard Kyle ask.

"That's room fourty-one. What, are you blind?" A man asked.

"Mostly. Jerk." Kyle said.

"Oh. Sorry." The man said.

"No problem," Kyle shrugged it off, and walked down the hallway.

"No, two down."

"Oh. Thanks."

Aneko opened her door, and Kyle accidentally hit her in the face.

"Oh jeez! Sorry Annie! Um, you are Aneko, right?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah," Aneko said.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush. It's not your fault. It was Keira's, and she's dead." Kyle said.

"I killed her, Kyle."

"I don't care. You're my friend, Annie. You could stab me and I wouldn't be angry." Kyle put his palm on his face. "That was way too straightforward."

"It's okay," Aneko said, and she hugged him.

Kyle hugged back, accidentally grabbing her butt.

"Oh. Sorry." Kyle said, face burning red, and immediately moved his hands.

"It's okay." Aneko said.

"What were you going to tell me earlier?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Aww!" Kyle said.


	16. Chapter 16

Kyle was standing in the middle of the team's normal training ground, with Kakashi, Naruto, and Hinata watching. Kyle had replaced the bandages that were around his eyes with a black band that matched his vest.

"I'm ready," Kyle said.

"Go!" Kakashi said, and from the forest Aneko and Sakura charged at Kyle.

Kyle, hearing their footsteps, immediately turned to Sakura, her chakra-strengthened legs making a larger sound. But Aneko was running faster, and got to him, grabbing him around the neck. Kyle cursed, and ripped Aneko off of him. But, by this time, Sakura had reached him, and hit Kyle in the stomach, causing him to fly back.

"K-Kyle's really g-getting hurt. I-Is this a g-good idea?" Hinata asked.

"Kyle needs to learn to fight blind." Kakashi said. "Getting hurt will help teach him."

Kyle crawled up, but Sakura had reached him, and kicked him in the ribs again, causing him to fly to the side, shouting in pain.

"Sensei, this doesn't look very fair." Naruto said.

"It isn't. But a normal fight won't be, either." Kakashi said.

Kyle jumped up, and caught Sakura's fist, then threw her away and used the screeching jutsu, making her smash into the trees. Aneko ran up to him and tried hitting him, but Kyle ducked under her punch and elbowed her in the kidney, causing her to fall over, but she was still standing, and kicked Kyle in the stomach.

Kyle caught her foot and spun around tossing her away, then used the jutsu that amplified his sound waves. Kyle stomped the floor and the ground shot up, hitting Aneko in mid-air.

"Kyle's got the upper-hand now!" Naruto shouted. "Go Kyle!"

Kyle turned and smiled at Naruto and Hinata, his thumb up, when Sakura came out of nowhere and hit him in the face, causing him to fly back into the forest.

"I-Is Kyle o-okay?" Hinata asked, worried.

For several moments, everyone stood, looking for Kyle. But he didn't walk out of the forest.

"Is Kyle okay?" Sakura asked.

"How hard did you hit him?" Aneko asked, crawling down a tree.

"I-I'm worried." Hinata said.

Then, suddenly, Kyle shot out from behind a tree and tossed several kunai around Aneko and Sakura, then disappeared again.

"He really can't throw kunai." Naruto said.

"That's because you can't see what he's doing." Kakashi said. "Hinata, use the byakugan to see his chakra."

"O-Okay." Hinata said, and did as Kakashi said. "T-There's chakra c-connected to t-the kunai."

"How's that gonna work?" Naruto asked.

"Just watch."Kakashi smiled. 'It seems Kyle's quite the planner.' Kakashi thought.

Kyle walked out from behind a tree, and Sakura ran at him. But, she was caught in the chakra strings, and was immediately tied. But, to Aneko, who couldn't see the strings was confused.

"Sakura! Quit messing around and attack-" Aneko stopped when she noticed that Kyle was the old Kyle, with no band over his eyes. "A trap!"

"Knew I was forgetting something." Kyle said, and shot several strings around Aneko, tying her down to the ground. "Hey, look, I'm Spider-Man!"

"Huh?" Everyone asked.

"Nothing. I win." Kyle said.

"I'm not done fighting!" Aneko said, struggling against the chakra strings. But, it was in vain, and she settled down.

"How about now?"

"Yeah. I'm done."

"Cool." Kyle said, letting the chakra strings disappear. "So, what now?"

Kyle looked around when everyone stopped because they saw three people walk out of the forest (whenever anyone walked on the training grounds, it usually ended badly.)

"Gaara?" Naruto asked.

"Who?" Kyle asked.

"He's to your left." Sakura said, standing up and brushing herself off.

Kyle turned to the left. "Oh. He looks good."

"You still have your eyes covered." Aneko said, brushing herself off.

"It's a joke. Chill." Kyle rolled his eyes. "I'm rolling my eyes. Not that you can see it."


	17. Chapter 17

"These are the sand siblings." Aneko said, walking Kyle up to them.

"Oh. How many are there?" Kyle asked.

"Three." Sakura said.

"Nice to meet you three. Lemme guess: two guys, one girl." Kyle said.

"How'd you know?" Naruto asked.

"Just 'cause I'm not from Konohagakure doesn't mean I don't hear about people," Kyle said. "I'm Kyle Uchiha, a blind guy from a village that you won't know about. Yes, I'm related to Sasuke. Yes, I look like Sasuke; no, I don't like him, and Sasuke feels the same."

"You let a blind person work with you?" Temari asked.

"That's either shockingly blunt or you're purposefully trying to be a bi-" Kyle paused. "Bad person." Kyle finished.

"If you're an Uchiha, then the loss of your eyesight must've destroyed your sharingan." Kankuro said.

Kyle pulled down his eye bandages, revealing his two sharingan eyes. They now had three tomoe. "The opposite happened." Kyle said as the three sand siblings moved a centimeter back in surprise. "I'm actually half-Uchiha, half-Meiki."

"Meiki?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah. The Meiki never forget a jutsu." Kyle smiled, covering his eyes again. "So, Temari, having me on a team isn't a bad thing."

"You know my name?" Temari asked.

"I always know more than I let on." Kyle said. "Or do I? Whatever. Nice to meet you three. Maybe I can come over and you can paint my face, or whatever you do, puppet-guy."

'Kyle hasn't said anything to Gaara yet.' Kakashi noticed.

"If you truly can copy every jutsu you see," Gaara said, "then you must be extremely powerful."

"I don't like bragging." Kyle said, scratching the back of his neck and smiling.

"And there are too many people on your team." Gaara said.

"Huh?" Kyle asked, smile gone.

"Your team has four students and one teacher." Gaara said.

"Hinata's just here to watch." Kyle chuckled nervously.

"I'm not counting her." Gaara said.

Kyle counted on his fingers. Naruto, Sakura, himself, and Aneko. The freakin' sand sibling was right. "They didn't have any openings, so we took Aneko in." Kyle said.

"That doesn't matter." Gaara said. "One of you have to leave."

"And what? Join you?" Kyle asked.

"That's possible." Temari said.

Kyle frowned. "Who are you to tell us what to do?"

"I'm the Fifth Kazekage." Gaara said. "The leader of Sunagakure."

"Aw sh*t." Kyle said. "I'll join your freakin' team, then. But if I get sunburned and die of skin cancer, I'm going to haunt you."

"What?" Kankuro asked.

"He does that," Kakashi said.

Aneko ran forward, hugging Kyle tightly. "I don't want you to leave!" She shouted.

Kyle sobered up. "Are you crying?"

"No." Aneko lied.

"You're a bad liar. Don't worry about me. I'll be back as soon as these sand guys realize I'm the most annoying bastard out there." Kyle said.

"Don't talk about yourself like that." Aneko said.

"Bye Kyle." Sakura said.

"See ya'!" Naruto said.

"I'll be back soon," Kyle said, walking backwards. Then, he turned to Temari and said "You guys knew about me, didn't you?"

"Yes." Temari said.

"Huh. Made a name for myself." Kyle said, wishing he was just a nobody again.

**A/N: I wanted the sand siblings in this fanfic, but now he's going to be with them for who-knows-how-long? Man, didn't see that coming.**

**-MN1**


	18. Chapter 18

Two weeks later, Kyle had gotten used to the sand village, and got his ears pierced (for no reason other than that he realized no one would complain about it; the sand siblings were all 'the mission is first' not 'what clothes are you wearing?')

"We're won't pretend that this is the end, we're not losers all the time!" Kyle sang, walking down the hallway to my room. After making sure that it was my room, Kyle opened the door and picked up his mail off the floor. Then, he shut his door and said "Why are you in my room?"

"How'd you know I was here?" Temari asked.

"I've been blind for nearly four months, if not more." Kyle said, sitting on his bed and taking his eye bandages off to read the mail.

"Who's your mail from?" Temari asked.

"My friends." Kyle said.

"I thought we were friends." Temari said. She had gotten more playful with Kyle over the weeks he'd been there.

"Yeah, but you don't send me mail. Shikamaru sends you some, though." Kyle said, handing her an envelope.

"How'd you get this!"

"It's called an accident. Y'know, mailman gives me your mail instead of mine. Chill."

Temari held the mail to her chest defensively.

"It's not like I read it," Kyle said. "If it makes you feel any better you can read one of my letters."

Temari looked through the pile, and smiled when she got to Aneko's letter. "This one."

"Why?"

"It's pretty obvious Aneko has something for you."

"Huh?"

"You didn't notice, did you?" Temari sighed. "Idiot."

Kyle thought about it, then opened a letter by Sakura. It read: 'Hey Kyle. We're really missing you in Konohagakure. I feel a bit guilty that you lost your eyesight, but I know you'd just say something along the lines of "it's not your fault." Anyways, how are you doing?'

Kyle chuckled, and wrote a quick response. 'Good,' he wrote. 'I got so much sand in my sandals, though, I doubt I'll ever get it out. And you're right: it's not your fault.'

"Not into writing long letters?" Temari asked.

"My friends write short letters so I don't keep my eyes uncovered for long." Kyle explained. "And I don't write long ones so my eyes aren't uncovered for long. I'm sensitive to light."

"Oh." Temari said. "What's in that box?"

Kyle shrugged, and quickly opened it. "Huh. It's from Tsunade." Kyle said, reading a small piece of paper.

"What's it say?" Temari asked.

"'Hope it fits.'" Kyle read, and took out a headband with a small dent in the bottom. It was for the leaf village.

"Why did she send you a dented headband?" Temari asked.

"It's not dented. It's fitted." Kyle said. "I lost my old headband when I lost my eyes. This one works as a headband-" Kyle put the headband over his eyes, and the dent is where his nose was "-and to cover my eyes."

"But it's not for the sand village." Temari noted.

Kyle shrugged. "Everything can't be correct." Kyle tied the headband, then slid it down around his neck. "How do I look?"

"Good." Temari said.

Kyle picked up another letter, and quickly read it. "Huh. Naruto just asks what kind of ramen they have here."

Temari shook her head. "He's pretty stupid."

"He has his moments, I suppose," Kyle shrugged. "Can I read Annie's letter now?"

"Who's?" Temari asked.

"Aneko's. I call her Annie as, like, a pet name."

"Why?"

"Because the red lines under names like Aneko annoy me." Kyle said.

Temari looked at him, exasperated.

"I'll start whining. _Teeeeemmmmmaaaaaaarrrriiiii! Gimme my leeeeeetter!_" Kyle whined.

Temari laughed, handing Kyle the letter. "Y'know, you're a really nice girl. It sucks I used to think you were a bi-"

Temari glared at him.

"Onto the letter!" Kyle said, laying back in his bed. "Right. 'How are you doing, Kyle? I hope the desert sun isn't frying your eyes or your brain. Not that there's much to fry.'"

Kyle stopped when Temari laughed.

"Hardy-har-har. I hope she knows I could think that means there's not too much to fry with my eyes."

"I think she means both your eyes and your brain." Temari said.

"Keep laughin', pigtails." Kyle said. "'It's pretty dull without you-'"

Right on cue, Temari let out an 'ooooh!'

"'And we're missing you. Well, Kakashi doesn't show it, but the only emotion he shows is love for those Make-Out Tactics books.' True." Kyle shrugged. "'Since this is a letter and I can't be interrupted, I _need_ to tell you this. I-'"

**A/N: Suspense!**

**-MN1**


	19. Chapter 19

Kankurou walked into the room, and said "We're leaving. Gaara is meeting Tsunade."

"Well, guess I'll finish it later." Kyle shrugged.

"No." Temari said. "How many words can it be? Just finish reading it."

"Alright, Ms. Bossy." Kyle said, and cleared his throat theatrically. "'I _need_ to tell you this. I...' There's, like, a paragraph of scribbled-out writing, so I'll skip it."

"Hurry up." Kankurou said.

"Just go ahead. I'll help Kyle catch up." Temari said.

Kankurou nodded, then walked off.

"Right. Finish the letter." Temari said.

"For some reason I feel like I'm being forced to read something private. Yes, that's a hint." Kyle said.

Temari didn't budge.

"Alright." Kyle said. "'I love you, Kyle. I hope to see you soon, so we can talk more, and I hope you feel the same.'"

"So?"

"What?"

"How do you feel about her feelings?"

"I don't know. Right now, I'm in shock. Get back to me when I start feeling emotions again." Kyle said, pulling up the headband over his eyes. "Now, could you lead me to where we're going? I haven't got a mental layout of the sand village yet."

_Outside the village, after a few miles of walking._

The team was taking a break, and Kankurou was painting Kyle's face.

"How do I look?" Kyle asked.

"Well, I put two lines under your eyes, and that's all I've done." Kankurou said.

"Dude, really? Man, this takes forever." Kyle said. "And I probably look all emo now."

"Actually, I painted those lines under your eyes because you can't see," Kankurou said.

"The hell would you do that? Shouldn't you, like, paint something that's good?"

"There's nothing good on your face I can paint."

"Ouch. I though you was my homie. I had yo' back. We was gonna start a gang, do a couple drive-bys, get some ho's. Now I just gotta slap the taste out ya' mouth." Kyle said.

"What?" Kankurou and Temari asked.

"Nobody gets my jokes." Kyle sighed, lowered his headband and looked in the reflection of a mirror Temari had at his kabuki makeup. "Huh. Not too bad, really. What am I gonna get to do at Konohagakure?"

"I think Kankurou and I will protect Gaara." Temari said. "You can go see Aneko."

"I thought we were going to-" Kankuro was silenced by a look from Temari.

'Holy crap,' Kyle thought. 'She _really_ wants me to see Annie.'

"Alright. You can see that girl," Kankurou said. Suddenly, three assassins came out of nowhere.

"Kazekage!" One of them shouted. "We're here to kill you!"

Kyle lifted his headband over his eyes. "I thought assassins were supposed to be stealthy."

Kakurou let his puppets out, and said "Guess these guys didn't get the memo."

Temari took her fan out. "Do all three of us really need to attack these guys."

"Overkill's fine." Kankurou said.

"As long as it gets the job done, right?" Kyle asked.

"Why do you have a blind guy protecting the Kazekage?" One of the assassins asked.

Kyle frowned, and pointed at the assassin. "You're going to die first. Then you. And, finally, you. Wait, scratch that." Kyle said, turning around. "The guy hiding behind us is going to die first."

An assassin jumped out from a tree, and said "I'm not an assassin. You think these second-rate assassins would think this through that well?" The person who jumped out of a tree was a girl, and had a white mask.

"Well then," Kyle said. "Care to help us?"

"It'd be my pleasure." The girl said. "My name is Haku."

"Nice name." Kyle smiled as Haku walked beside him. "Mine is Kyle."

"I know your name, Meiki-Uchiha." Haku said.

"Am I, like, a rockstar now?" Kyle asked.

"When you're done flirting with Haku, you should help us kill these assassins." Kankurou said.

"I knew I forgot something." Kyle smiled.


	20. Chapter 20

Haku immediately threw a needle into one of the assassin's eyes, killing him immediately. Temari lifted one of the assassin in the air using a wind jutsu, snapping him in half on a tree.

"Jeez! That sounded terrible!" Kyle said, then heard blades slaughtering an assassin. "Did you just lock one of those guys in your puppet?" Kyle asked.

"Yep." Kankurou said.

"At times like this, I think 'I am fortunate I didn't see that.'" Kyle said. "There's nobody for lil' ol' me?"

An assassin hit through a tree that would've hit Gaara, had not he slid backwards. "Kyle," Gaara said. "This one is yours."

"I think this guy's bigger than the others." Kyle said, and pulled down his headband so it hung around his neck. "Holy sh*t."

The assassin was a full seven feet tall, with giant muscles and a scarred face.

"Dude," Kyle said. "How many steroids do you use?" Kyle quickly moved his hands, and he shot fire around him.

"What was the point in that?" Temari asked.

Kyle quickly moved his hands, and the fires grew into a column of flames, surrounding him completely.

The giant man jumped through the flame, burning himself, and when he got on the other side his hands were empty.

"You think I'd stand in the middle of fire? Dude, you're stupid!" Kyle said, and did a quick screeching jutsu that was cut off when the man bear-hugged him. The man squeezed him, intending to break Kyle's bones, and Kyle smiled.

"Shoulda restrained my hands, big 'un." Kyle said, his mouth bleeding a bit. "Porcupine jutsu."

Instantly, giant, glowing needles several feet long shot out of Kyle's body, impaling the assassin. Kyle fell to the ground, and jumped back, narrowly avoiding the assassin's falling body.

Then, he turned to the others. "Now, how cool was-" Kyle spat a bit of blood out "-that?"

"Are you okay?" Temari asked.

"Right as rain." Kyle shrugged, putting his headband over his eyes. "Or, will be. Now, what do we do?"

"We're going to Konohagakure." Gaara said.

"What about Haku?" Kyle asked.

"She can stay with us until we get to Konohagakure." Gaara said. "She's not on our team, though."

"Do you want to stay with us?" Kyle asked Haku.

Haku took her mask off, revealing an incredibly beautiful face that made Kyle's jaw drop. Temari hit Kyle on the head.

"Remember Aneko!" Temari shouted.

"I would love to stay with you guys." Haku smiled, tilting her head so that her dark hair shifted in a way that Kyle found beyond attractive. Temari immediately kicked him in the back of the head, and Haku giggled.

"This is going to be a long trip." Gaara observed.

"Yeah," Kankurou agreed.


	21. Chapter 21

As soon as they were in Konohagakure, Kyle couldn't get rid of the giant smile on his face.

"What's up with him?" Haku whispered.

"He lived here, and he's been missing it." Timari said. "I feel bad about it."

"Why?" Haku asked.

"I'm the one that dragged him off. Or, rather, suggested Gaara drag Kyle off." Temari said.

"He didn't seem that unhappy. All-in-all, he seems a happy guy, and I don't think he's angry at you." Haku said. "How did he go blind?"

"Kyle? We don't know for sure." Temari said. "He doesn't talk about it."

"Kyle has a title." Haku said. "The blind copycat."

"He'd probably like to know that." Temari said.

"Alright." Haku said, and walked up to Kyle, who had lowered his headband around his neck to see Konohagakure. "Hey, Kyle."

"'Sup?" Kyle asked.

"Did you know you have a title?" Haku asked. "The blind copycat."

Kyle laughed. "That's pretty cool. Hey, it's my friends!"

Aneko, Naruto, and Sakura ran up to Kyle, followed by Kakashi, who was walking behind them, nose in a book. But, all of them but Aneko stopped when they saw Haku.

"You!" Naruto asked.

"Huh?" Kyle asked.

"You died," Sakura said.

"No, I didn't. Got blinded, though." Kyle said.

"Not you. Haku." Kakashi said.

Kyle turned and looked at Haku. "Um...What? I met her in the forest, and she helped me kill some guys who attacked the Kazekage."

"He's not lying." Gaara said, followed by his siblings.

"Maybe I should explain myself. I didn't know your friends were in Team 7." Haku said. "My personal hero was Haku, and when I met him I looked like him and had the same name. When he died, I styled myself after him. Sorry for the confusion."

"That's an odd thing to do." Aneko said.

Kyle covered his eyes with his headband, and said "I think we're all odd here, really. Soo...now that you're done shouting at my friend, can we eat some ramen? I couldn't get any in the sand village."

"Sure. Maybe you can tell us what you were doing recently." Sakura smiled.

"I didn't do much, actually. I learned some sand jutsu, but not much else." Kyle said. "I got this sweet headband right before I left, actually."

"Who was it from? It's got the same sign as our headbands." Aneko said.

"You got one of the headbands?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah. I use it as an armband." Aneko said. Kyle quickly lowered his headband again, and saw she, indeed, had the headband on her arm.

"Cool," Kyle said, and handed Sakura his letter. "It's the only one I got to reply to. Sorry about your letter, Annie. Temari kept me from reading it, and I didn't get time to read it on the way here." Kyle lied.

"It's okay." Aneko smiled. "So, you and Temari are close?"

"Yeah. She's kinda like a big sister that teases you. Well, I think she is. I don't know what a sister's like." Kyle shrugged, and felt Temari stare daggers in his back. "Hey, you guys go to the ramen stand with Haku. I need to tell Temari what's up."

"Don't take long." Aneko smiled.

"And don't forget to pay!" Naruto laughed.

When they left, Temari walked up to Kyle.

"Why'd you lie to Aneko?" Temari asked.

"I dunno." Kyle shrugged.

"So, how do you feel about her?" Temari asked.

"I don't know." Kyle said.

Temari smiled, and tousled his hair. "It's good you think I'm like a big sister. I never got to mess with Gaara. Well, I gotta go. They already left. See you, Kyle." Temari said.

"Bye Temari." Kyle smiled, and walked to the ramen shop.


	22. Chapter 22

"Sorry we were so rude to you when we first saw you." Sakura said.

"It's okay." Haku said. "Your friend, Kyle. He's pretty odd, isn't he?"

"Yeah. But he's cool." Aneko said.

"If you don't mind me asking, how'd he, y'know..." Haku tapped beside her right eye with her index finger.

"His mother, one of the akatsuki, used a jutsu directly in his face. Unfortunately, Kyle didn't have his sharingan on, so his eyes can't change back. Even then, he's sensitive to light." Aneko said.

"I operated on him with Tsunade." Sakura said. "If anyone less experienced than us would've tried operating on him, he'd have been permanently blind."

"His own mother? How does he manage to stay happy?" Haku asked.

Sakura shrugged, and was about to say something when, suddenly, they heard Kyle singing.

"Better watch out for number one (I fear there's a bad wind blowing through here!) you better put up the shutters cause lord knows I ain't now stoppin 'til the worst gets alive!" Kyle sang, jumping around and singing.

**A/N: The song is 'Gravemakers and Gunslingers' by Coheed and Cambria.-MN1**

With an odd coincidence, Kyle jumped forward just as Hinata walked past a corner, and they both fell over. Kyle ended up nose-to-nose with Hinata, hands near her shoulders, with Hinata, hands on her chest, under him. Kyle's friends all watched, wondering what to do.

Kyle lowered his headband around his neck, and saw the blushing Hinata.

"Oops." Kyle said, then stood and helped Hinata up. "Sorry. Blind. Man, it's been a while!"

"T-Two weeks." Hinata said.

"Yeah, but a lot can happen in two weeks." Kyle shrugged.

"You got your ears pierced." Hinata said.

"Hey, you're not stuttering anymore! That's cool. Wanna get some ramen? The others are here, along with Haku."

"Haku?"

"This chick I met on the way over here. So, wanna get something to eat?"

"Sure." Hinata smiled.

Kyle chuckled. "Happy I had my headband down. You have a really cute smile." Then, Kyle put his headband over his eyes, missing Hinata's whole face blush. "Hey guys! This is on me!"

"Do you still have a whole bunch of money?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. I didn't get paid anything, but they didn't want any of my money, either." Kyle said.

_Two hours of laughing, talking, and eating later._

Kyle yawned, and stretched his arms. "I gotta go home. I told the others that, if they needed me, they should go there. See ya'."

"Hey, it's kinda dark. Should you really walk home alone?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not afraid of a boogie-man or anything, Naruto." Kyle laughed. "And besides, I can't see. It doesn't really make a difference."

"Then how about you walk someone else home?" Naruto asked. Kyle immediately knew where this was going.

"Good idea, old chap! It would be most kind and chivalrous for us to walk the fairer sex home." Kyle said, talking as if he was in an old Victorian era. "I live near Annie, and I promised to sock Hinata's dad in the face, so you may walk Sakura home."

"What about me?" Haku asked.

"Well, I guess you can stay with me in my crappy apartment until the morning. It's got two beds, anyways." Kyle said, talking normally.

"Why does it have two beds?" Sakura asked. "You live alone."

"Y'know, I never thought about that." Kyle shrugged. "Right. I don't know where none of you girls live, so you should probably lead me there."

"I go first?" Hinata asked.

"Yep." Kyle said, putting a small bag of money on the counter. "Thanks for the food. It's even better than I remember."

"No problem." The chef said.

"Hey, I got one thing to ask you before you go home with your harem." Naruto said.

"What's a harem...?" Kyle wondered as Hinata blushed, Aneko flipped Naruto off, and Haku giggled, saying 'your friends are pretty cool, Kyle.'

"Why are you wearing makeup?" Naruto asked.

Kyle thought about it. "Why do you have whiskers?"

Everyone laughed, even Naruto.


	23. Chapter 23

"See ya', Hinata." Kyle smiled, and waved.

"Bye." Hinata said.

As soon as she was gone, Haku said "I think she has a crush on Naruto."

Kyle looked at where her voice came from. "Really?"

"Yes. Trust me; boys never notice when a girl has a crush on them." Haku said. "No matter how cute Hinata is, Naruto won't notice."

"Then, I, as her friend, shall get her a date with Mr. Uzimaki." Kyle smiled.

"Why are you talking like that?" Aneko asked.

Kyle shrugged, and began walking towards home.

"So, Haku, what are you going to do now?" Kyle asked.

"I don't know." Haku shrugged. "I guess I'll be with you for my stay here."

Aneko frowned when Haku said 'be with you.'

"I think you phrased that wrong, Haku." Kyle said.

Haku shrugged.

"Alright." Kyle said when he got to his apartment building. "This is-"

Kyle stopped, and turned.

"What's wrong?" Aneko asked.

"Nothing." Kyle said, lowering his headband around neck. "Hey, show Haku my room. I'll be back."

"When?" Haku asked.

"I don't know." Kyle answered, and walked off into a dark alley.

"That was odd. Even for Kyle." Aneko said. "Follow me."

In the alley, Sasuke was standing, waiting for Kyle.

"I see you've lost your eyes." Sasuke said.

"No, I haven't." Kyle said. "Just my normal eyes."

After a few tense moments, Kyle said "We're not fighting here. If you want to fight me, we're getting out of Konoha first."

"Does it matter where you die?"

"No. It matters how many people get hurt during the fight."

"I'll kill the whole village later. Does it matter-"

"Stop asking when things matter. I mean, damn! I used to think you were emo- don't get me wrong, some emo people are cool -but you're straight-up psycho." Kyle said.

Sasuke was silent for a moment, then said "Follow me."

Kyle followed Sasuke out of the village, to the team's training grounds.

"I remember training here." Sasuke said. "I can't wait to kill Naruto."

"What about Sakura?" Kyle asked.

"I'll kill them all."

"I think my big brother talked about that. What was his name again? Oh yeah: Itachi."

"You are not Uchiha."

"Yet I look like you, have your sharingan, and-" Kyle was cut off when Sasuke put his sword up to Kyle's neck. "You can come back to Konoha, Sasuke."

"It's too late for me." Sasuke said.

"You can always turn back, Sasuke. You can always redeem yourself." Kyle said.

"It would be nice if the world worked like that." Sasuke said, and pointed the blade at Kyle's feet. Suddenly, lightning shot out of the sword, and Kyle narrowly avoided it. The spot where he had been standing was burned black, and the grass was on fire.

Kyle looked as Sasuke, as if to say 'stop this,' but Sasuke just shot forward, and sliced at Kyle, nearly beheading him. But Kyle ducked at the last moment, then kicked Sasuke in the stomach, causing him to fly back. Sasuke landed, and immediately jumped forward, swinging his sword like a madman. Kyle dodged as best as he could, but Sasuke sliced his arm open, as well as his leg.

Kyle, after dodging a slice aimed at his head, shot up and his Sasuke in the face, Sasuke's nose immediately spouting blood.

Then, both Kyle and Sasuke charged at the same time. And there, in the training field, Kyle was impaled, Sasuke's sword buried to the hilt in his stomach.

Kyle coughed blood, and said "Goodbye...brother."

Sasuke angrily threw Kyle on the ground, then wiped his sword clean and left Kyle there, quickly dying.


	24. Chapter 24

Neji stood in the middle of the trees, the wind blowing his hair to the left.

"Do you smell that?" Tenten asked.

Neji took in a deep breath, then said "Blood. Byakugan!" A few moments later, Neji's eyes changed back to normal. "Several meters away. A teenager. Bleeding to death."

Tenten was gone before he said 'death.'

Back in the training grounds, Kyle's vision was more than a little blurry, but he still crawled towards what he thought was heaven. Destroying his nails and leaving a giant bloody trail behind him, Kyle wouldn't even think of dying before he reached his destination.

His destination? His favorite spot in the world: the tree he had spent uncountable hours under, the tree he had went to before training, the tree where he hung out with his best friends. In Kyle's eyes, though, it was glowing, and all of his friends were there, laughing and smiling.

'C'mon Kyle!' Aneko smiled.

'You're so slow!' Naruto teased.

For once, Kyle's eyes didn't see the next jutsu they would perform in their next fight. It only saw his friends, and the golden light of the tree.

Suddenly, someone picked Kyle up.

"Don't worry, kid!" Guy shouted. "I'll get you to the Hokage in no time!"

"Guy?" Tenten asked. "Where'd you come from?"

"I always know when I'm needed." Guy thumbed-up Tenten.

"Guy-sensei, that teen is dying." Neji reminded him.

"Ah yes!" Guy said. "We must hurry!"

_The next morning._

Team 7, along with Haku, hurried as soon as they heard that Kyle had been injured, and waited for him to wake.

"What do you think happened?" Naruto wondered.

"He was stabbed, if that helps." Tsunade said.

"It does, sort of." Aneko said. "I mean, everyone and their mother has a stabbing weapon."

"Not a kunai wound. A sword wound." Tsunade said.

Everyone but Haku frowned.

"I don't get it." Haku said.

"Sasuke has a sword." Aneko whispered to her. "And he wants Kyle dead."

"Everyone and their mom wants me dead." Kyle said, limping into the room. His stomach was covered in bandages, and he had no shirt on, as his clothes were ruined from his blood. "I mean, even my _own_ mom wants me dead. Where's my ultra-awesome headband. Thanks, by the way."

Tsunade smiled, and gave it to him. "I had it fixed."

"Thanks." Kyle said, tying it over his eyes, then lowering it around his neck. "So, who saved me?"

"I did!" Guy shouted, his team standing behind him.

"Oh. Thanks." Kyle said.

"You're very welcome!" Guy shouted. "Anything to help the Eternal Flames of Youth!"

"Good luck with that." Kyle said. "Oh. 'Sup Lee?"

"Nothing much." Rock Lee said.

"Hey, you look like Hinata." Kyle said to Neji.

"I'm her cousin," Neji said.

"Oh. Small world." Kyle said, closing his eyes. "Wish I had the freakin' byakugan. This sharingan's annoying. By the way, that eight trigrams palms heavenly spin jutsu looks real cool."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"Oh. I forgot to tell you guys. Whenever my eyes are uncovered, I see the next jutsu you'll do, no matter how far off. If I'm in a crowd of ninja I get a migraine." Kyle said.

"You never told us that." Aneko said. "That sounds terrible."

"Maybe." Kyle shrugged. "I deal."

Hinata walked into the room, and fainted when she saw Kyle without his shirt.

"Tsunade, you probably got more business from my circle of friends than a hospital." Kyle said. "Oh yeah, Naruto, dude, I got some good news to tell you now that Hinata's passed out."

After a few seconds of people staring at Kyle, he said "That came out creepier than I meant."


	25. Chapter 25

'Kyle's sharingan is unique. I've never heard of a sharingan that will show the next jutsu you perform, even if you aren't fighting.' Kakashi thought. 'Kyle may be more useful than we thought.'

It had been a year since Kyle was stabbed by Sasuke, and he had learned how to heal smaller wounds, as well as how to use a scaled-down version of chakra enhanced strength jutsu.

"Stop copying me!" Sakura had joked.

"Can't help it." Kyle smiled, pulling his eyelid down, showing his sharingan, and sticking his tongue out.

While no one else had change, Kyle had seen much change over the year. His brown hair was now shoulder-length, and he wore a Konoha ninja vest that he never zipped up, a black short-sleeve shirt under it, baggy black pants, sandals, and his headband over his eyes.

On this particular day, both Kakashi and Kyle were sitting under a tree, reading the Make-Out book series.

"What are you two doing?" Aneko asked, then looked at Kakashi. "You're almost never here early!"

"I figured I could read a book on a tree. Kyle recommends it." Kakashi said.

"Reading your pervert books under a tree? That's not odd." Aneko said sarcastically.

"Considering you're in the minority, it isn't odd." Kyle said.

"You're reading it, too?" Aneko asked.

"Yeah. It's in Braille, though." Kyle said.

"Aren't you a bit young?" Aneko asked. "Those are only for eighteen-year olds and up."

"Oops." Kyle shrugged, his hand moving along the pages. "I might be a year or three under the age limit."

Aneko sighed. "You could stop reading and focus on me."

"As much as I want to focus on your beautiful and womanly voice, this dude's doin' something, and I wanna see what it is." Kyle said.

Aneko blushed brightly.

"So, what's up with everyone's favorite orange-jumpsuit wearing ninja?" Kyle asked.

"They're crazy over each other." Aneko said, sitting beside Kyle.

"Of course. Matchmaker Kyle knows best." Kyle smiled, though he didn't stop reading his book.

"You know, you're a lot like Kakashi." Aneko said.

"Really?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah. I mean, you both got the sharingan thing going on, and you both read those books." Aneko said.

"Kakashi has more fangirls." Kyle said.

Both Kakashi and Aneko looked at him.

"You know it's true. I mean, if you take your shirt off I bet the fangirls would be heard the world over. And that goes double for Sasuke." Kyle said. The awkward atmosphere was destroyed when Naruto ran up to the others, smiling.

"What's up, Naruto?" Kyle asked.

"How'd you know it was me?" Naruto asked.

"You smell like ramen, dude." Kyle said. "And also you give really good vibes off. It's a bit like therapy, but it kills your brain cells."

The others laughed as Sakura walked up.

"Hey guys," Sakura said. "Kyle, did I ever tell you how much you looked like Kakashi?"

"Y'know, people used to say that about Sasuke." Kyle said. "I'm getting flashbacks."

"Hey, have the sand siblings contacted you yet?" Aneko asked.

"Yeah. They want me to come back, and ask if I'm fully healed yet." Kyle said. "Of course, whenever Temari sends it, she says that she knows I'll lie to them, and doesn't blame me for wanting to live in Konoha."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Shikamaru and Temari, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Kyle sang.

"I don't get it." Naruto said.

Kyle slapped his head. "They're dating. So are Neji and Tenten."

"How do you know that last pair?" Aneko asked.

"Who else is in a field in the middle of the night during a romantic full-moon?"

"Good point."

"Now that we're done talking about romance," Kakashi said, jumping down from the tree.

"Get back guys." Kyle said seriously. "This isn't Kakashi."

"What?" Naruto asked.

"How'd you know?" Kakashi asked, blades coming from his fingertips. Kakashi's mouth fell open, revealing a mouth full of razors. "Anyways, now that we're done talking about romance, time to die."


	26. Chapter 26

The puppet lunged at Kyle, but he slid to the right, grabbed it's right arm, and elbowed it in the face causing it to fall down. Then, when it landed, Kyle put his foot on its back and ripped it's arm off. Then, Kyle jumped back, narrowly avoiding the puppet's claws from its left hand.

"Interesting fighting style." The puppet said, it's voice sounding exactly like Kakashi's. "Hit-and-run. Not as daring as your companions. Because of your eyes?"

"Screw you." Kyle said angrily. Naruto, Aneko, and Sakura were surprised. Kyle never seemed to be that sensitive about his eyes; in fact, he often joked about it (not that any of the group knew who 'Toph' was.)

**A/N: Avatar: The Last Airbender reference for the win!-MN1**

The puppet stood and ran towards Kyle. Kyle immediately began running away, tossing a few shuriken it's way, but he was mostly unable to hit it. Then, the puppet's mouth dropped open, and flame shot out, destroying the place Kyle had been.

"Kyle!" Aneko shouted.

Suddenly, a figure jumped out of the trees and ripped the puppet's head off, then landed beside the team, rolling to keep from hurting herself landing.

"Haku?" Sakura asked. It _was_ Haku, but she only had jeans and a grey t-shirt on, with no shoes so you could see her feet.

"Yeah." Haku said, her long hair going down her back. "Where's Kyle?"

"He just got fried." Naruto said.

"What would Kakashi do?" Haku asked.

"Go undergro-" Sakura was cut off when, suddenly, they heard Kyle shout "Falcon!" and fly out of the ground, and hit the puppet in the stomach, using a strength-enhancing jutsu.

As his fist broke the puppet's stomach, Kyle shouted "PUNCH!"

Then, the puppet exploded, and Kyle went back down into the ground.

"Is that it?" Aneko asked.

Haku looked around, her eyes darting all over the field. "Sasori got away. Damn it!"

The others were surprised; they'd never seen Haku angry.

"Sasori? From the Akatsuki?" Sakura asked.

"What would they want with Kyle?" Naruto asked.

"Revenge. Kyle has killed two of their ranks, and currently has a bounty of several hundred-thousand ryo on his head." Haku said.

"How do you know that?" Aneko asked.

"I was hired to kill Kyle by the Akatsuki shortly after he moved to the sand village." Haku said. "Now I am wanted by the Akatsuki."

"Well, that'll ruin your day." Kyle said. Suddenly, Aneko tried hitting Haku, and Kyle stopped her fist right before it broke Haku's nose. "Need a chill pill? Fighting won't get us anywhere."

Aneko pulled her fist back angrily.

Kakashi walked out of the forest, his nose in his book. "What happened here?" Kakashi asked, only looking up from his book for a second to see the giant flame from where the puppet had tried to kill Kyle.

Haku handed Kakashi the head of the puppet.

"Not too bad." Kakashi said. "But my jaw is much thinner."

"Sensei, Haku is an assassin sent to kill Kyle." Sakura said.

"Not doing a very good job, is she?" Kakashi asked.

Kyle moved beside Kakashi and moved his headband so that it covered his left eye, then opened his Braille book and said, copying Kakashi's voice "Not at all."

The others held back a laugh, then started laughing when Kakashi did.

Well, everyone but Haku. "Kyle, though I'm happy you finally know I was sent to kill you, I still feel guilty."

Kyle shrugged, pulling his headband back down over his eyes. "Don't sweat it. By the way, is that my shirt?"

"Yes." Haku said. "Listen. If you want, I can make it up to you right now."

Aneko and Kyle both blushed.

"Uh...Elaboration would help get rid of how awkward this is." Kyle said.

Haku grabbed Kyle by the hand, and, with her other hand, they disappeared. They reappeared in a large cave.

"_You._" Sasuke growled.


	27. Chapter 27

Sasuke immediately shot forward, sword drawn, but Kyle ducked under his sword and hit it, snapping it in half.

"You got no idea how many times I practiced that." Kyle smiled. Immediately, Sasuke was angered by his smile, and hit him, causing Kyle to slide back. Kyle spat out a back tooth, and immediately frowned. "Damn. I don't think ninjas get dental."

Sasuke turned to Haku, and shouted "I hired you to kill him!"

Haku immediately disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Money only goes so far, bro." Kyle said. "Friendship'll last forever."

"It didn't for me." Sasuke said, walking to the left.

"You keep saying that. You could go back to Konoha whenever you want." Kyle said, walking to the right, making it appear like both of them were walking along a circle.

"You're a liar."

"You could try going back."

"There would be a trap."

"You could fight through it."

Sasuke lunged at Kyle, and Kyle slid under him, then whirled around when he was at the exact same position where Sasuke had been. Sasuke, of course, was where he had been, and they began moving the same way they both had been.

"Sakura wouldn't forgive me. Kakashi wouldn't forgive me." Sasuke said.

"You got no idea what they'd do," Kyle disagreed.

"I would still be an outlaw."

"No matter how far you go, no matter how evil you become, there's always a turning point."

"If only the world worked like that."

"We're just going in circles, Sasuke. One of us needs to change."

"Or, you could die!" Sasuke shouted, and began using the chidori in his left hand.

Kyle pulled down his headband, and began charging a chidori in his right hand.

Then, both of them ran at each other, and attacked with their chidori at the same time. The jutsu hit each other, and both Uchiha flew backwards, their hands smoking.

"Damn, bro!" Kyle said. "My hand is messed _up!_" Kyle held out his left hand, and it began glowing.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke growled.

"I'm offering to heal you...for what it's worth, really. I wouldn't take the offer. Hand's too difficult for me."

"Why would you offer me kindness?"

"You're my brother, you need to be shown kindness to be kind...Any number of excuses. Which will float your boat?"

Sasuke ran forward, taking out a kunai, and tried stabbing Kyle. But Kyle swiftly dodged every single attack, then disarmed Sasuke.

Kyle lowered his headband down to his neck, then tossed the kunai across the cave. "Can't we just get along?"

"No." Sasuke said.

"It's like talking to an angry brick wall," Kyle sighed, then pointed at the ceiling. "That stalactite is going to fall. Then, you will come home with me. That came out wrong."

Sasuke moved to stand under the stalactite, then spat fire at the stalactite, burning it into a cinder. "Not likely," Sasuke said.

Kyle yanked his hands back, as if tugging on a string, and the chakra string around Sasuke's legs, causing him to fall. Then, Kyle said "Y'know, watching people is interesting, especially with the sharingan. Where else could I learn the shadow clone jutsu?"

Then, three Kyle's surrounded Sasuke. Sasuke stood, and looked at all of them.

"Why do you shout so much?" One of the three clones asked asked. "Brothers aren't that bad."

Sasuke silenced the clone with a fist through it's face.

"You can come back." Kyle said. Sasuke promptly threw a knife at him.

"Are you really throwing your life away for _revenge_?" The final Kyle asked. "Against Naruto and me? I mean, Naruto is a hyperactive blonde kid, while I'm just a long-haired teenager with a nasty scar from where you stabbed me."

Sasuke killed the last one and, suddenly, Kyle grabbed him from behind. No, he didn't grab Sasuke; he _hugged_ him.

"Calm down, Sasuke, and listen. There's no distance you can go, or any laws you break, or anything else that can keep you from coming home to your friends, to your home, or anything." Kyle said.

To Kyle's (and, when others were told of what conspired within the cave) surprise, Sasuke broke down, crying.


	28. Chapter 28

After several hours of crying, Sasuke finally stood up and looked at Kyle, truly seeing his brother for the first time: the small scars on his arms, smile lines on his face, and, when his eyes were uncovered, the scars where his skin had been burned, as well as the scars from Kyle attempting to rip his eyes out when the pain drove him into animalistic behavior in the first few moments after Keira shined a bright light in his eyes.

"Sorry." Sasuke said.

"It's cool." Kyle said. "What now?"

Sasuke looked at the ground, and said "I want to go home. To Konoha. To my...friends."

"Alright." Kyle said, reaching under his headband to scratch his eyelid. "Any idea how to get home?"

"I know the way." Haku said, landing right behind Kyle.

"I thought you left." Kyle said.

Haku shrugged with one shoulder, the other burdened by a backpack. "I figured I'd need to patch you two up. And I do. I mean, look at your hands."

The Uchiha brothers did in unison.

"Whoa." Kyle said. "Sasuke, let it never be said you aren't a badass."

Sasuke didn't answer, but Haku saw a small flicker of a smile on his lips.

"Okay. I can tell, just by looking, that your hand is worse, Kyle." Haku said, taking Kyle's hand gently. Haku cleaned and bandaged it up, Kyle complaining most of the way. When Sasuke's hand was bandaged up, Sasuke didn't make a single sound.

"You seem really cold, Sasuke." Kyle said.

"He's always been like this." Haku said.

"Oh. Not much like me, then?"

"Nope. You're more like Naruto, actually."

"Huh." Kyle said, then shrugged. "How far is it from Konoha?"

"An hour or so." Haku said, finishing up Sasuke's wound. Then, she picked up her backpack and said "C'mon guys! It's five a.m., so, if we hurry, we can get back and eat breakfast."

_An hour and a half later._

Kyle, Sasuke, and Haku walked into the busy Konoha streets, Kyle smiling like an idiot, Haku looking worried, and Sasuke his usual emotionless self.

"Why are you smiling?" Haku asked.

Kyle shrugged. "Happy to be back. By any chance Sasuke, does Sakura have a crush on you?"

"She said she loved me." Sasuke said.

"Well, in a few seconds, when she realizes it's you and runs to hug you, you're gonna be in luck. She's hot," Kyle gave Sasuke a 'good going, dude!' thumbs-up.

"How do you know she's coming?" Haku asked. Then, they all heard Sakura shout "Sasuke!"

"I'm freakin' psychic." Kyle smiled, then stepped back as Sakura literally tackled Sasuke, crying and laughing. Naruto was right behind her, with Hinata a step behind. And, finally, Aneko, looking a bit confused.

After a few moments, Sakura and Sasuke stood, Sasuke moving beside his brother, who was smiling proudly.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"Kyle got through to me." Sasuke said.

"Is that why he's smiling so much?" Aneko asked.

"I'm just happy to have my brother." Kyle said, holding his smile back a bit.

"What happened to your hand?" Sakura asked Kyle and Sasuke.

"We had a fight." Kyle shrugged. "I couldn't heal us."

"Can I heal you two?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, if you don't mind. Sasuke, want to tell them what happened while we're healed?"

Sasuke shrugged.

Kyle sighed. "I guess the Meiki Clan were more talkative."

_A story later._

Naruto laughed. "That's _awesome_! I can't believe you used my jutsu!"

"That was dangerous." Kakashi said, appearing out of nowhere.

"The risk was high," Kyle agreed, "but the priiize..."

Everyone looked at Kyle.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked.

"Uh. It's just something I do." Kyle said, not knowing how to explain himself. "So, Sasuke, what do you want to do?"

"Honestly? Go on a date with Sakura." Sasuke said.

The sound as Kyle fell over in surprise was heard throughout Konoha. The sound of Sakura shouting 'YEAH!' was heard even farther.


	29. Chapter 29

Kyle slept on the couch, while Sasuke slept in his room. Haku didn't move from her bed.

'Why don't we just sleep where I used to live?' Sasuke asked.

'I'd rather not. That's where the other Uchiha...y'know.' Kyle said. 'Plus, I wouldn't know my way around the place.'

And now, early in the morning, Haku walked out of her room and sat beside the sleeping Kyle. Kyle wore a sleeping mask while he slept, keeping his eyes covered almost twenty-four seven.

"Kyle," Haku nudged.

"Yeah?" Kyle asked, sitting up. He pulled his sleeping mask down, and blushed when he saw Haku, wearing her underwear and a shirt, so he pulled his sleeping mask back up.

"It's okay." Haku smiled. "This is important."

"What's up?" Kyle asked.

"I've taken your place in the sand village." Haku said.

"Huh?" Kyle asked, taking his sleeping mask off completely.

"I'm not going to take you from your brother, Kyle." Haku said, hands on her knees. "I want to stay with you, be your friend. But I'm not going to force you to leave when your brother just got back."

"Wha-" Kyle was cut off when Haku put her index finger on his lips.

"I already told them I could take over for you. Don't make this harder than it needs to be." Haku said, tears in her eyes. Then, she stood and walked off into her room. Kyle noticed something right after she left, though: the note that Aneko had written to Kyle saying that she loved him. When Sasuke had stabbed him Kyle had bled on it, but not enough to make it unreadable.

And Haku had read it, and now thought Kyle and Aneko were in love! At least, that's what Kyle put together.

Kyle immediately crumpled up the letter, threw it against the wall, got his pants and sandals on, and walked to the door. But, just as he began to leave, he did two things: put on his headband and wrote a letter to Sasuke, telling him he wasn't feeling well and would be back soon.

Then, Kyle was gone.

_Across Konoha._

Tsunade rubbed her eyelids.

"Yes, it _is_ a danger. But Sasuke's been in Konoha for half-a-day, and the only notable thing he's done is go on a date. And that's only notable because of the ridiculous amount of people who followed the two." Tsunade said.

"But-" Her advisors began.

"Is Tsunade gonna have to choke a bitch?" Kyle asked, walking in unannounced.

"What are you doing here?" Tsunade asked Kyle. She didn't sound angry; just surprised.

"This girl who apparently has feelings for me is running off for the sand village, so I got to stay away from anyone who would want to talk about it." Kyle said.

"And you came here?"

"Yeah, though that's mostly unrelated. I knew you would be talking about Sasuke." Kyle turned on his heel to the advisors, and said "I am Sasuke's half-brother, and the one who brought him back to Konoha. He is a model citizen, if you don't count the riots he causes girls to go into, as well as the fact I had to sleep on a couch for him."

The advisor was going to say something along the lines of 'get out you punk,' but Kyle interrupted him by popping his neck loudly.

"I am also in Team Kakashi, just as he was. And is, probably." Kyle said. "He's done some bad stuff, but who hasn't?"

"I never ran off from Konoha." The advisor said.

"I did. Dragged off, actually. Gaara was on a mean streak."

"You haven't given one good example why he shouldn't be killed."

"You haven't given one to why he should."

"Quiet!" Tsunade shouted, and sighed. "I won't do anything to Sasuke, except putting him on parole."

"Woot! Parole!" Kyle said.

"Kakashi will be his parole officer." Tsunade said.

"Woot! Kakashi!"

"That's annoying, Kyle. Shut up."

"Woot! Shutting up now, Ms. Tsunade...err, Ms. Hokage."


	30. Chapter 30

"Can't stay at home, can't stay at school." Kyle sang silently, sitting on the top of a building.

**A/N: The song is 'Cherry Bomb' by The Runaways. -MN1**

Kyle pulled down his headband so it was around his neck, and watched the small group of people leaving Konoha. Kyle saw his friends saying goodbye to Haku, who looked around. Then, Kyle suddenly saw Hinata use a jutsu- the byakugan -and point to Kyle.

All of his friends looked at him, and Kyle just watched.

"You know, you have a special sharingan." Kakashi said.

"You got there a few seconds ago," Kyle said. "I heard your sandals land on the ceiling."

Kakashi nodded. "Haku wants to see you."

"I don't wanna see her go."

"I understand that."

They both sat, watching.

"Your sharingan is special. My sharingan only sees the jutsu as it happens. I've taken to calling your sharingan the fortune-teller sharingan." Kakashi said.

Kyle smiled. "The blind copycat, with his fortune-teller sharingan. Sounds pretty weird."

"You're a weird person. Sasuke wanted to kill you most, and you're the one who brought him back." Kakashi said. "I still can't believe you got him to come back with a hug."

"Yeah." Kyle said. Then, after a few moments, he said "Why couldn't I get the girl?"

"Hm?" Kakashi asked.

"Sakura gets Sasuke, Naruto gets Hinata. Why don't I get Haku?"

"Maybe you should go after Aneko."

"I don't feel that way about Annie. I think of her like a sister, or a friend."

"Ah." Kakashi nodded, then decided to change the subject. "How did you know that the puppet wasn't me?"

"You were at the tree, for one, before I was. I was actually waiting for my friends so I would have backup." Kyle admitted. "I didn't read one page of it. I was too busy freaking out. I'm surprised no one noticed my hands shaking."

"You couldn't have taken it?" Kakashi asked.

"People don't understand what it's like to be me. The light hitting my eyes feels like my eyes are on fire. And when my eyes are uncovered, I use chakra. Not as much as you, but more than Sasuke. So, most of the time I'm blind. It's by choice, though, so I guess it's not that bad." Kyle said, wiping his eyes. "Can't believe Haku's leaving for me. I don't want that."

Kakashi patted him on the back. "You can visit her."

"The sand village is three days away. And I would have to bring someone along with me since I don't know the way there, or leave my eyes uncovered and be blinded by the sun, as well as use chakra."

Kakashi thought about it. "Do you seriously like the Make-Out books?"

Kyle laughed, tying the headband over his eyes. "Yeah."

"You know your friends are going to want to talk to you."

"I know. I saw them walking towards us as soon as they cleared the gate."

"Then why don't you stay here?"

Kyle shrugged. "I want to be alone."

"I was here and you didn't seem to mind." Kakashi said.

Kyle thought about it. "I don't know what to do, or what I want."

"I understand that." Kakashi said.

"So, when's our next mission?" Kyle asked.

"After we get used to our old member coming back."

"Hey Kakashi?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." Kyle said.

"No problem." Kakashi said. "Next mission I get, I'll try getting it in the sand village. If you talk to your friends."

Kyle smiled. "Harsh. But fair. Alright," Kyle nodded.


	31. Chapter 31

"Kyle, why aren't you hyper?" Sakura asked, holding hands with Sasuke. They were headed to the sand village on a mission: a murderer was hiding out there, and Kakashi took the job. It had been a month since Haku had left Konoha, and Kyle hadn't gotten any letters; he hadn't sent any, either.

Kyle combed his hair with a brush with the Uchiha Clan symbol on it, his headband around his neck.

"Whadd'ya mean?" Kyle asked.

"Usually your jumping around, or singing. Now you're just silent." Sakura said. "And you've been brushing your hair for fifteen minutes."

Kyle put up his brush. "Do you want me to sing?"

Sakura was about to say 'I guess not' when Kyle began banging his head, then sang "The Maiden sitting by her pool, was the first to hear my pleas. As she gazed into the water, she recited these words to me!" Then, Kyle stopped, pulled his headband over his eyes, and was silent for the rest of the trip.

This was, of course, the subject Aneko and Sakura talked about when they were alone.

"Does Kyle seem odd to you?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. He's odd to everyone." Aneko smiled.

"You know what I mean." Sakura laughed.

"Yeah, I do. I don't know what's up."

"Maybe it's Haku."

Aneko thought about it. "Why would Kyle act odd about her?"

"Actually, Kyle's action more like a normal person." Sakura said. "Maybe he has a crush on her."

Aneko thought about it. "Do you think he ever read that letter I gave him?"

"Huh?"

"I gave Kyle a letter. Do you think he ever read it?"

"Wasn't he stabbed by Sasuke that night?"

"Yeah." Aneko answered.

Sakura thought about it. "You should ask him."

"What if he lies about it?" Aneko asked.

Sakura realized something, and smiled. "Is the letter a love letter?"

Aneko blushed. "Yeah," she admitted.

"What do you like about him?" Sakura asked.

"His smile, for one." Aneko smiled. "How kind he is, when most people would've become bitter after what he went through. How Kyle won't blame you for anything, and will help you out, no matter what's going on in his life."

"What do you hate about him?" Sakura asked.

"He's a bit wacky, so say the least." Aneko shrugged.

"Are you worried about any other girls?"

"...Haku."

"I wouldn't worry about her," Sakura said. "She's dating Gaara."

Aneko's jaw dropped. "Really?"

"Yeah. She told me in a letter." Sakura said. "She also said that Kyle was way more hurt than she thought."

"What happened between the two?"

"Well, Haku wanted to talk to him, one-on-one, since he was her best-friend, and Kyle ran all around town." Sakura said. "Tsunade said that he walked into her room, smart-talked her advisor, then left."

"That's not like Kyle." Aneko said.

"It is, actually." Sakura said. "They were talking about Sasuke, and the advisor wanted him locked up- or worse."

"I guess it is. He's pretty protective of Sasuke, isn't he?" Aneko asked.

"They are brothers." Sakura smiled. "But Sasuke looks way better. I can't believe they used to look alike. Now Kyle looks like...like..."

"Kyle looks like Kyle. He's his own person now." Aneko said.

"What do you think will happen on the mission?" Sakura asked.

"With Naruto, Sasuke, and Kyle, who knows?" Aneko laughed.


	32. Chapter 32

The team had arrived in the sand village, and were greeted by the sand siblings, as well as Haku, who was now tan.

"Wazzup?" Kyle asked, his eyes covered.

Temari smiled, walked up to him and hugged him. "Not much."

Team 7's jaws dropped in surprise.

"Oh yeah." Kyle said, and reached into his backpack. He withdrew a box that was covered in chains. "Shikamaru told me to give this to you, and that you had the key already. He woulda mailed it but it was-" Kyle slumped over, and yawned "-too bothersome." Kyle finished in a sleepy voice. Then, Kyle stood back up, smiling like usual.

Naruto laughed, and was about to say something along the lines of 'that's what Shikamaru's like!' when Kyle put a hand over his mouth.

"She's protective of her boyfriend." Kyle whispered, then spun around. "Hey, Kankurou, can you give me some of that make- I mean, face-paint? I couldn't find any in Konoha."

Kankurou nodded. "Sure. Hey, I made something for you."

Kyle raised an eyebrow as Kankurou took out a small, human-shaped puppet.

"Does it got knives in its feet or something?" Kyle asked.

"No," Kankurou said. "This is to train movements."

Kyle attached chakra strings to it and tried making it walk. "Heh. Look, it's drunk!" Kyle said as the puppet walked as if it were absolutely smashed.

A giant anime sweat drop formed on Kankurou's head. "Work on that." Kankurou said.

Kyle made the puppet stick his hand out, and Kyle stuck his hand out, putting his thumb up.

"Don't sweat it." Kyle said, making the puppet crawl up his leg and stand on his shoulder.

Gaara stepped forward, and Kyle pulled his headband down, squinting in the sunlight. Neither said a word, but, suddenly, they shook hands, and Gaara patted Kyle on the shoulder.

'What was that about?' Team 7 wondered.

Then, Haku walked up to Kyle as he pulled his headband up. She dressed more like Kakashi than Haku, and seemed different now.

"Hey Kyle," Haku smiled.

"Hey." Kyle said, looking directly at her face, even though he couldn't see her. "You sound different."

"I've grown older," Haku shrugged. "What've you been doing?"

"A whole bunch of 'go here, do this' missions." Kyle shrugged. "The sand village need to throw me a mission or two. I can't just run here to visit. I can't afford new sandals when I wear them out."

"Somehow I doubt that. You always have money." Haku said.

"Kyle, the rich blind fortune-teller copycat." Kyle chuckled. "My title's getting too long."

"On to the mission." Kakashi said, stepping between the two teenagers. "The man is hiding out in a cave. I won't be going with you," Kakashi said, remembering Obito.

"But I will," Haku said.

"Y'know, there's, like, three people with sharingan." Kyle noted, not yet realizing what Kakashi and Haku said. "Then three people without sh- what?"

"I'm going." Haku said. "Don't worry. This guy isn't that dangerous."

"Yeah, but who's gonna lead us?" Kyle asked. "I mean, a team of five people isn't an easy thing to lead."

"I'm a Jonin, so I should be able to handle it." Haku said.

"Wait, what?" Kyle asked, then realized something. "What rank am I?"

The others all paused for a moment.

"What rank _are_ you?" Naruto asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Aneko asked.

Sasuke said "Idiot."

"I thought Naruto was dumb." Sakura said.

"Well, excuse me! My village didn't have any places to train me, so I never took any exams!" Kyle said.

"I'll make him a chunin," Gaara said.

"Is that good?" Kyle asked.

"It's higher than Naruto said." Sasuke said.

Naruto slumped over. "Aw man."

"It's okay." Kyle patted him on the back.

"How'd you get that flak jacket?" Haku asked, poking Kyle on the back.

"This thing?" Kyle asked. "I thought it was a vest. Well, I got it 'cause it looked like Kakashi's, and looked good with my shirt."

"I'm flattered," Kakashi said, reading his book.

"No. I asked _where_ you got it." Haku said.

Kyle thought about it. "I bought it off a guy in the street, if I remember correctly."

Haku fell over in surprise. "I thought you were a chunin, when you were just rich!"

"Actually, I'm a chunin now. So now you can think that." Kyle said.


	33. Chapter 33

''Course I go first,' Kyle thought, walking up to the mouth of the cave. 'Now, what could be a distraction?'

Kyle smiled. "God save the Queen! The fascist regime! They made you, a-"

**A/N: The song Kyle is singing is 'God Save The Queen' by the Sex Pistols. -MN1**

Kyle was suddenly cut off when a giant rock crashed into his ribs, knocking him back.

"You don't want to fight me, girl!" The man shouted, standing on a rock in the cave several feet above Kyle.

"I'm a guy." Kyle wheezed.

"I couldn't tell." The man said. "You have long hair, and earrings. Not to mention your fairly pretty."

Kyle looked at him, even though his headband covered his eyes. "What. The. Fu-"

The man cut him off by bringing a rock down. Kyle rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding the boulder crushing him.

"Y'know, you shouldn't attack random people. It's extremely rude." Kyle frowned, standing up. When Kyle didn't hear the man say anything, he pulled down his headband, and, after his vision returned, he saw that the man was dead, a kunai lodged in his throat.

And, standing over him, was an Akatsuki member. The Akatsuki member looked at Kyle, and Kyle muttered "Oh sh*t."

"Hello brother." Itachi said.

Kyle stared at him, hands shaking and mouth a thin line. Then, Kyle swallowed his fear and spoke.

"Itachi, right?" Kyle asked.

"You seem to be unlike Sasuke," Itachi said, like he didn't care.

"I've noticed." Kyle said, wondering how far he could get before Itachi killed him.

Itachi looked at Kyle, directly into his eyes, and said "Run."

Kyle happily did what he said, running into the desert. Suddenly, Itachi was in front of Kyle, and Kyle slid to a stop, falling backwards. Frantically, Kyle tried crawling backwards when Itachi put his foot on Kyle's chest.

"It seems you know me." Itachi said.

Kyle grabbed his leg twisted, snapping his ankle. But, suddenly, Itachi changed into crows that promptly flew away. Kyle stood, then quickly turned, his hands moving quickly. Itachi jumped away seconds before Kyle would've burned him alive.

"Why are you here?" Kyle asked, hands ready.

"To recruit you." Itachi said, appearing behind Kyle. Itachi dropped something, and disappeared again. Kyle whirled around, and, seeing Itachi had moved, picked up what he dropped.

It was a slate-blue pinky ring.

"That was Orochimaru's place." Itachi said. "You are a much better replacement than we thought possible. When you fully grow, you will be stronger than Sasuke."

"I don't want to join you guys." Kyle growled.

"Think about it." Itachi said. Then, Kyle heard several crows flying away.

Kyle looked at the ring, then put it in his flak jacket pocket and stood, patting the sand off of his knee.

A moment later, his friends ran to him, all of them worried.

"What happened?" Sakura asked.

"What happened to you guys?" Kyle asked.

"We were attacked by Kisame." Naruto said. "What happened to you?"

Kyle looked at the ground, thinking about it. Then, he looked up, straight into Naruto's eyes.

"Nothing." Kyle said. "Just got the job done."

Aneko sighed. "Good."

Haku smiled. "I'll go look at the body. Hey, Kyle, I did actually find a Ramen stand."

Kyle raised his eyebrow.

"Y'know how you said to Naruto you couldn't fine one? I found one right across where you lived." Haku said.

"Huh." Kyle wondered. "That's obvious, even for me. Like a giant red sign that says 'free shipping' when you want to buy something, and your freaking out over the shipping."

**A/N: Yes, that happened to me. I'm going to buy two headbands, one for my bro (Xan075) and one for me, and we were all like 'the shipping's going to be nuts!' Then, I noticed the sign that said 'free shipping!'**

**We all felt very, very stupid.**

**-MN1**


	34. Chapter 34

"It's just not like him." Haku said, walking with Gaara.

"The mission was completed." Gaara said. "That's all that matters."

"But Kyle wouldn't just cut a guy's throat in a perfect line, if at all." Haku said. "We had a plan where the others would've done it, specially planned by me because I thought Kyle was so nice."

"Maybe he thought you weren't coming for him."

"I thought of that. Wouldn't Kyle have tried catching him, then?"

"Why would he catch an insane rapist and murderer?"

"I doubt Kyle knew who the man was, or even his name."

Gaara thought about it. "Don't worry, Haku. Wouldn't Kyle tell you if something happened?"

"I don't know." Haku said. "In truth, I think he has a crush on me."

"He'd better not. I'll bury him alive." Gaara said.

"Joking isn't for you, Gaara." Haku winced, then kissed the Kazekage on the cheek.

Gaara shrugged, then walked off. "Don't worry about Kyle. He can handle himself."

Haku stood for a moment, then followed Gaara. "Gaara, how would you feel about...err, a surgery?"

Gaara turned to Haku, and crossed his arms.

"I want to give Kyle one of my eyes. The right one." Haku said.

"Why?" Gaara asked.

"He's mostly blind! Sunlight hurts his eyes, and he burns chakra whenever he does look at others. Not to mention the sensory overload problems. I've seen it happen, and it's scary."

"Leaning against a wall and taking deep breaths isn't a cause for worry."

"It is to me! Please." Haku asked, clasping her hands against her cheek, turning her head and using the puppy-dog eyes she knew Gaara liked.

Gaara thought about it. "Only one eye, and only because it would be a tactical advantage."

"You're so cute when you lie!" Haku smiled, hugging the Kazekage. Kakashi walked by, and Haku said "Oh. Hey Kakashi."

Kakashi nodded, though he kept his brisk pace, a book in his hand.

"Huh." Haku said. A few moments later, Kakashi walked back out of the hallway at a slower pace, reading his book.

"Hey, Kakashi, didn't you just go into that hallway?" Haku asked.

"No." Kakashi said, walking past the two.

"Did you pass anyone?" Haku asked.

"They were on my blind side if I did." Kakashi said.

"Oh. Right." Haku blushed.

"Have you seen my students?" Kakashi asked.

"I think they're all together. They're close, aren't they?"

"Yeah. Kyle and I are pretty close."

"Friends by handicap?"

"That was very mean." Kyle said.

"Wha-!" Haku looked around, but didn't see Kyle.

"Behind you," Kyle said, sitting on the window ledge.

"How long have you been there?" Haku asked.

"A little while." Kyle said. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt: his casual clothes.

"Usually you're very loud," Gaara said.

Kyle shrugged, climbing in the window and closing it. "This place makes me miss my village."

"Where was your village?" Haku asked.

"You wouldn't know it," Kyle said, just as he had a hundred times before.

"Try me."

"It was near a beach." Kyle said. "That's all your getting."

'That's rude.' Kakashi thought.

"So, surgery." Kyle said. "Is this gonna hurt?"

Haku blushed. "I thought you said you were there a little while!"

"Just 'cause I wasn't in a window doesn't mean I didn't hear you." Kyle said. "I would very much like to have a normal eye."

"Are you crying?" Haku asked.

"There's sand in my eye." Kyle said.

"You said the same thing when you burned your duster," Kakashi said in a sing-song tone.


	35. Chapter 35

Haku stood over Kyle, bandages over her right eye. Kyle was still laying in bed, drugged up. Both of his eyes were bandaged.

"You know that people are usually drugged up after surgery." Kyle slurred. "And, apparently, you ain't usual."

"I woke up earlier. I have a high metabolism, so I burned off the painkillers." Haku said.

"Luck-y me." Kyle said.

"I have a few things to ask you." Haku said.

"Lemme guess: do I got a crush on you, why was I so sensitive, and why-y am I so evasive about my village?"

"How did you know?"

"I ain't dull. People think cuz I joke around I'm stupid." Kyle said. "You probably want to know about why there were two Kakashis yesterday."

"Yes." Haku said.

"Where should I start?" Kyle thought. "I was the other Kakashi. I heard you talking to Gaara, so I walked out the window. I passed Kakashi, but his nose was in his book. Kakashi's eye coulda been open, it wouldn't have mattered. Kakashi's a cool guy, though. I mean, he used to seem like an emotionless prick, but he was just helping me become a better-"

"Kyle!" Haku said.

"Right." Kyle said. "A small village in the land of water is where I came from. 'Course, a criminal ran us out, and I ended up in this crap village when I was five. One orphanage to another. So, then I went here when my power increased beyond what they could teach. The rest might be well-documented infamy, if I do what Itachi wants me to do."

"What?" Haku asked seriously.

"He offered me Orochimaru's place in the Akatsucky...No, A-cat-suki...Akatsuki! Yeah, them guys." Kyle laughed.

"How did he get the ring?" Haku asked.

"I dunno." Kyle said, scratching his head. "Maybe he took it. That'd make that other dude angry, and an angry Orochimaru ain't good. 'Least, that's what I'm guessing."

Haku thought about it. "Where is your ring?"

"In my vest." Kyle said. "Nobody knows where that is, though."

Haku walked across the room and searched every pocket of Kyle's flak jacket, but didn't find anything. Kyle kept snickering annoyingly, and Haku walked over to him.

"Where's the ring?" Haku demanded.

"That ain't a vest. It's a flak jacket." Kyle smiled.

Haku sighed. "Next."

"I did have a crush on ya'. But I see that you and Gaara got a thing, and I respect Gaara more than anyone else in the sand village. I love Temari like a sister, though. I miss my sister." Kyle said. "I miss Saika. She wasn't even related to me, but still. Like. A. Sister."

"What are you going to do?" Haku asked.

"Don't know yet. I never plan the future. In a fight, I make it up. When I wake up in the morning, I don't know what'll happen. It's how I live my life." Kyle said.

"Kyle," Haku said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Kyle smiled. "It ain't like you did anything bad."

Haku frowned, and held Kyle's hand. "Aneko was killed last night."

"What?" Kyle asked.

"I'm sorry."

Kyle pulled his medical bandages off, his sharingan eye changed to a black spiral on a red background. Kyle's other eye was brown, like his hair.

Suddenly, Aneko walked in with Sakura.

"Kyle can take his bandages off-" Sakura and Aneko saw the scene between the two, with Kyle looking oddly at Aneko, as if he couldn't believe his eyes. "Now." Sakura concluded.

"Annie?" Kyle asked, then looked at Haku. "What the hell?"

"I'm sorry." Haku repeated.

"Annie, you're okay!" Kyle said, forcing himself up, nearly falling over. Haku tried helping him, but Kyle pushed her away. "You didn't die?"

"I never left the hospital. What's wrong?" Aneko asked.

"Haku said you died." Kyle wiped his eyes.

"Why would you do that?" Sakura asked.

"He needed the mangekyo sharingan." Haku said.

Sakura growled. "Why the hell would you lie to Kyle for some stupid power that'll drive him blind!"

Aneko held her back. "It's okay." Aneko said.

"Tha-" Haku began when Aneko hit her, sending her falling backwards. Haku caught the side of the bed, holding her cheek.

"Next time you hurt Kyle like that, I'll kill you." Aneko said, then left, leaving Kyle and Sakura alone with Haku.

"C'mon Kyle," Sakura said.

"My stuff." Kyle said.

"Right." Sakura said, grabbing his stuff. But she dropped one thing: a puppet, dressed like Kyle had been before Sasuke ruined his vest.

'The vest!' Haku realized, and reached out to grab the puppet when Kyle swooped down, picking it up. Then, they left Haku behind, her cheek swollen and her head full of questions and worries.


	36. Chapter 36

Kyle sat on the misty beach, looking at the water. Kakashi sat beside him, looking at the waves as well.

"What's going on?" Kyle wondered.

"You gained an eyes, but after the surgery, Haku lied to you, making you think Aneko, your best friend, died." Kakashi said.

"I don't choose best friends." Kyle protested.

"I know, but you're friendly: that makes everyone your best friend. You were also drugged, making it nearly impossible for you to tell if she was lying or not." Kakashi said.

"Yeah." Kyle chuckled. "Probably should've told them about my low metabolism, and how it takes me a while to burn off medicine."

**A/N: I don't know if that's how medicine works, but, for the record, I doubt it works like that. -MN1**

Kakashi chuckled. "So, what's your biggest worry?"

"I messed up. I've got a older half-brother breathing down my neck about the Akatsuki...wait, is Sasuke older than me?" Kyle wondered.

"Yes." Kakashi said.

Kyle shrugged. "Itachi's breathing down my neck, I don't know how he even _got_ the ring, and I'm confused about girls." Kyle blushed, never thinking he'd ever talk to Kakashi about his girl problems.

'Then again,' Kyle thought. 'It's not like I have a dad to talk to about this stuff.'

"What girls are you thinking about?" Kakashi asked, looking at Kyle.

"Annie- Aneko, I mean -and Haku." Kyle said. "I liked Haku, but she drugged me and hooked up with Gaara. Not to mention that she _knew_ I liked her."

Kakashi nodded. "Quite the dilemma. Do you like bad girls?"

"Maybe. I don't like chicks who drug me, though. Not to mention she got punched in the face." Kyle said. "Gaara might kill Annie for that."

"Don't worry." Kakashi said. "We talked it over when we left the sand village."

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. Getting a drugged-up me out of the sand village. That'll haunt me."

"Probably. So, how do you like Aneko?" Kakashi asked, putting his hand on his chin.

"I used to think of her as a friend, right?" Kyle said. "But I don't think of her like that anymore. I think of her as a cute girl from the sound village."

"What changed?" Kakashi asked.

"Me. Her. I don't know." Kyle said.

"I understand." Kakashi said. "You had a moment of clarity when you were drugged up, and you realized something."

"How would you know that?" Kyle asked, then frowned. "Please don't tell me I started spouting nonsense on the way home."

"We used a jutsu to get you home immediately." Kakashi said. "I know that because this is a dream."

"Huh. That's gonna piss somebody off." Kyle said, standing and skipping a rock across the water. "Well, character discover is good, right?"

"Well, it's romance-related, and romance is good." Kakashi said.

"Yep. You're me," Kyle nodded. "Fourth-wall breaking is my thing."

"So, what are you going to do?" Kakashi asked.

"Give Annie a giant kiss far away from Ino? Maybe get some flowers for her? I don't know." Kyle said.

"And that's how you like it." Kakashi said, and they both laughed. "Right. You have to get up. Sasuke's coming to your room soon, so you know something big is going on."

"Right." Kyle nodded.

Then, Kyle sat up in bed.

"I'm in love with Aneko." Kyle smiled.

Sasuke opened the door, and handed Kyle a scroll.

"You've been asleep for a few days." Sasuke said.

Kyle shrugged, picking up the scroll. "How am I gonna read this?" Kyle asked.

"You can use one eye now." Sasuke said.

Kyle opened his right eye, and smiled when he saw the world just as he missed it.

"Sakura left you things." Sasuke said.

'Not very verbose are you, brother?' Kyle thought, turning to his bedside table. Then, Kyle picked up the headband and the eye-patch.

"Hm." Kyle said after putting the eye-patch on. "Just a plain old headband with black cloth." Kyle smiled. "I like it!" Kyle put it around his neck and looked at the scroll.


	37. Chapter 37

Kyle read the scroll aloud, his half-brother standing walking out of the room.

"You have been chosen as a candidate for the ANBU...?" Kyle read. "We have a mission you will feel you need to perform. The team has been chosen, and the other two have accepted. The mission will be to free your old home?" Kyle shot up as Sasuke walked back into the room.

"They were going to choose me, but I'm still on parole." Sasuke said.

Kyle put his scroll on his bedside table. "Well, guess I'm getting a tattoo." Kyle said.

_Across Konoha._

"Man, this is hell." Shikimaru yawned. "I was gonna sleep in, and some ANBU guy drags me off here."

"They took me all the way from Sunagakure," Haku said. "I only avoided getting a tattoo because Gaara threatened the ANBU guy."

"I was gonna get one, but it seemed like too much trouble." Shikimaru said. Suddenly, a fully-armed ANBU man walked in, his hair pulled back in a ponytail. He stood up completely straight, and had a tattoo on his left shoulder; the sign of ANBU males.)

"So, you're the team?" The ANBU asked.

"Yeah," Shikimaru said, scratching the back of his head.

"Huh." ANBU said. "Thought I was going to have a whole bunch'a powerful ninja, not you teenagers."

"Sorry to disappoint you, sir." Haku said. "But our abilities will make up for our age."

"I sure do hope so," The ANBU said, taking off his mask. "We gotta help out my village," Kyle said.

Haku slumped over. "It was you?" She asked.

"Yep." Kyle smiled. "How do I look?"

"You got the tattoo?" Shikamaru asked. "Man, I was too tired to get it."

Kyle shrugged. "It looks cool, so I decided to get it. Just another piece of my history sticking to me."

"How's your eye?" Haku asked, standing up straight.

"Fantastic." Kyle said. "Look at the eye-patch I got."

Haku and Shikamaru did. It was an average black eye-patch, but had a silver Konoha symbol on it.

"Represtentin'!" Kyle smiled, holding up a gang sign.

"Who got that for you?" Haku asked.

"I figure it was Tsunade." Kyle shrugged. "But I don't know for sure. I wish I did, though."

"It was Aneko," Shikamaru said.

Kyle looked at him oddly.

"I walked by your house when you got there a few days ago. Aneko gave it to Sakura, asking that she make sure you get it." Shikamaru said.

"Shikamaru, I want to kiss your sleepy head for telling me that."

"Please don't."

A man walked in, somebody no one expected.

Though one certain person did handle his appearance well.

"'Sup Kakashi?" Kyle asked. "Man, if the fangirls saw you in that ANBU suit they'd go nuts."

Kakashi ignored Kyle's comment. "I came back to ANBU to debrief you." Kakashi said. "That is all. After that, Shikamaru's your leader."

"I think we can deal." Kyle said.

"Right." Kakashi said. "A small village in the Land of The Water was taken over by a criminal, who has slowly been draining the life from the village. Recently, trade routes have been planned to go through the village, making exporting and importing goods easier. However, the criminal boss doesn't allow these trade routes."

"So, what do we do?" Haku asked.

"Kill him." Kyle said.

"Hm?" Kakashi looked at him.

"We're gonna kill him, and whoever works for him." Kyle said.

"I wasn't going to put it that way, but...that's basically it." Kakashi said. "Be careful, and, Kyle."

Kyle looked at Kakashi.

"Don't overuse the mangekyo sharingan. It will drive you blind." Kakashi said.

"Understood." Kyle said, putting his mask on.


	38. Chapter 38

As soon as Kyle entered his old village, his whole demeanor changed. He walked straighter, losing the character he had gained over many miles walked and many injuries that Kyle had received.

"What's wrong?" Haku asked. "That suit rubbing off on you?"

"Maybe," Kyle said, then stopped, turning to look at an old school building. Kyle took his mask off as his past replayed in his head.

_Kyle walked out of the school building, his head throbbing._

_ "Why do we gotta learn all of this stuff?" Kyle asked. He had unruly brown hair and big green eyes, with a face all the adults praised._

_ "Math is important, Kyle." Saika said. She had bright blue eyes and long blonde hair that ran down her back._

_ "So I need to know addition to fight somebody?" Kyle asked doubfully._

_ "You might. Isn't it better to be safe than sorry?" Saika asked._

_ "Maybe. But isn't it better to know how to shoot fire than know what five plus three is?"_

_ "What is five plus three?"_

_ Kyle counted on his fingers._

_ "Kyle, it's eight." Saika said._

_ "I was getting there!" Kyle said._

_ "Okay, I'll teach you some math." Saika said, taking out a pack of cards and handing them to Kyle. "I learned this game from my Uncle. It's called 21, and-"_

_ Saika was interrupted when the a bully, Rai, walked over, knocking Kyle over and taking the cards. Rai was several years older than Kyle, but still loved teasing the little kid. Little did he know that he was, literally, playing with fire._

_ "What are these?" Rai asked._

_ Kyle stood up and jumped up, trying to get the pack of cards._

_ "Give 'em back!" Kyle shouted._

_ Rai laughed. "Reach them first, Kyle!"_

_ "Rai, you don't wanna mess with me. You don't know what I'll do."_

_ "You won't do sh*t!" Rai shouted, hitting the young Kyle in the face, giving him a bloody nose._

**A/N: Why do I even rate these stories 'T'? I mean, the only cuss words I don't censor are 'hell' and 'damn,' and this series isn't that violent. Anyways, back to the ****story**** flashback! -MN1**

_ Kyle, on the ground, rolled over and moved his hands like he'd seen a ninja do. Electricity shot from his hand, flying right over Rai's shoulder, burning him._

_ "Damn it!" Rai shouted, dropping the cards and running off._

_ "Kyle...what was that?" Saika asked._

_ Kyle just grabbed the pack of cards and ran, crying. Unbeknownst to him, some powerful men had seen his display, and didn't like any...uncontrollable ninja._

"Kyle!" Haku said, shaking the ninja.

Kyle responded by putting his mask on. "Where to?"

"Um...Are you sure you were right for this mission?" Haku asked.

"Yeah," Kyle said. "Where are we going?"

"You won't like this," Shikamaru said grimly, looking at a map.

"What?" Kyle asked.

"This old map shows where the orphanage was," Shikamaru said. "And now, there's...This is troublesome." Shikamaru said, looking up at a large mansion.

Kyle immediately growled at the mansion built over his old home's ashes.

_ Kyle laid in bed, not getting a moment of sleep when, suddenly, a woman ran in, shouting for everyone to get out. Kyle stood, and smelt the fire._

_ 'Oh no!' Kyle thought, running to a window. Of course, he saw Rai's father. 'Of all the cliché plot twists...wait, what?' Kyle asked, his first fourth-wall break confusing even himself. Even so, Kyle forced himself outside, looking out of the open door, where all the kids were standing. Saika looked for him while the workers counted heads._

_ Kyle walked over, handing her the cards. "Bye." Kyle said, and ran. He ran for a day before being helped by travelers, putting him in the care of a few ninja. Then, Kyle bloomed into a powerful ninja, and you know the rest._

A man bumped in to Kyle, wearing expensive robes.

"Watch it." The man said.

"You watch it." Kyle said absentmindedly.

The man turned around, growling. "You know who I am?"

"No. I don't care." Kyle said.

"I'm Rai, the Lightning Bolt!" Rai shouted.

"That's nice. I'm Kyle, the blind fortune-telling copycat." Kyle said.

Rai frowned angrily. "You?"

Kyle came back down to earth. "Uh-oh." Kyle said.


	39. Chapter 39

Rai immediately tried hitting Kyle, but Kyle ducked under his hand, grabbed his wrist, and threw him onto the ground.

"You haven't fought for several days, if not longer." Kyle growled. "You exercise more for looks than to optimize the muscles you have, and the only jutsu you have is the one I used against you. Become a real man before you fight me."

Kyle walked off, followed by Haku and Shikamaru.

_The middle of the night._

Kyle walked through the streets, leaving the safe house behind. Kyle stopped when he saw a blonde teen walking along the streets, looking nervous, carrying several bags. Then, Kyle pulled his hood up on his robes, happy he began wearing them.

"Need help?" Kyle asked.

The woman jumped. "Um..."

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you." Kyle smiled.

'She can't see you. You're wearing a mask.' Kyle thought.

"Who are you?" The woman asked.

"Nobody." Kyle said. "The mask is freaking you out, isn't?"

"No. It's the whole 'wearing-black-while-we're-in-a-crime-filled-village.'" The woman said.

"Right. Sorry."

"No worries. I'm Saika."

"Hm. I'm, err...nobody in particular." Kyle said, taking some of her bags and carrying them.

"It's not nice to lie to me, Kyle." Saika said.

"Wha...Only guy with ANBU clothes and I beat up someone in the middle of the day. Should've guessed I'd be known." Kyle said, face-palming. Then, he lowered his hood and took off his mask.

"What happened to you?" Saika asked, running her finger over one of the scars around Kyle's eye.

"Well, meeting mom wasn't fun." Kyle shrugged. "I still don't know what present she was talking about. On the plus side, I learned how to play 21."

Saika laughed. "You remember that?"

Kyle tapped the side of his head.

"Why is your eye brown?" Saika asked.

"I got it implanted." Kyle said, then pulled up his eye-patch, showing Saika his sharingan.

"You're Uchiha?" Saika asked.

"Yep." Kyle smiled. "Half-Uchiha, half-Meiki."

"You're pretty dangerous, huh?" Saika said.

"What?"

"I mean that you could help me out." Saika said. "I want to kill Rai. He took over his father's business."

"Wait, Rai's the crime boss now?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah."

"And you're fighting against him?"

"No. I don't have any training. But I do know where to fight." Saika said.

"I think," Kyle said. "This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"We've known each other for, like, ever." Saika said.

"Don't ruin the moment." Kyle said.

**A/N: Sorry for how short the chapter is. It just seemed so cool to end it on that note.**

**-MN1**


	40. Chapter 40

It was official. The kids from the ANBU were suicidal. They'd defeated several of Rai's men, and now one of them were knocking on the door. Unfortunately for them, Rai had been training, using various illegal substances, and as soon as the kid with the ponytail knocked on the door, it exploded in a fiery jutsu. A kid with a ponytail flew back, landing with his back to Rai.

"How bothersome." The kid said, standing up and yawning. "Your Rai, right? I'm Shikamaru."

"Take off that mask. You look to much like Kyle." Rai growled.

The kid yawned, scratching his chin. "Y'know, taking the mask off is too troublesome. I mean, that strap'll mess my hair up."

"Shut up, kid." Rai said, shooting a bolt of lightning at the kid. The kid slid to the left, and wasn't even touched by the lightning.

The kid scratched his chin, yawning. "This is such a _drag_. I wish I could just chill in Konoha. Instead, I have to come here and fight you."

"Why are you so lazy?" Rai shouted, shooting a ball of fire at the kid.

The kid jumped over it, spinning in the air and landing a foot from the crater it left.

"I don't know." The kid yawned, stretching. "I'm not Shikamaru." The kid stood up straight, and took his mask off.

"You made my life a living hell and you couldn't notice my voice when I just made myself sound sleepier?" Kyle asked, walking so that he was right in front of Rai. "You know that jutsu? The one you use and the one I scarred you with? I don't use that jutsu anymore, just because hurting you terrified me so much."

Kyle crossed his arms over his ANBU clothes. "But now I see your just a wimp."

Rai, who had been keeping calm, exploded, and tried attacking Kyle. But he couldn't move.

"Good call." Shikamaru yawned, standing beside the mansion door. Of course, his shadow wouldn't have been to reach Rai without Kyle's suggestion of using his robe to give just enough shadow to reach Rai.

Kyle bowed theatrically, "I aim to please."

"You freak!" Rai shouted. "You one-eyed freak!"

Kyle didn't listen; instead, he opted to take out the puppet Kankurou gave him.

"Shoot to kill, aim to please/What goods a heart if it ain't on your sleeve/If nobody knows/If nobody sees/I tell them all that its make believe." Kyle sang, making the puppet dance. Then, Kyle looked up. "Be careful, Haku. I want to take him alive."

**A/N: The song Kyle is singing is 'Heart On' by Eagles of Death Metal.-MN1**

Haku appeared behind Kyle, then took his katana.

"No can do," Haku said, twirling the sword right before she decapitated Rai.

'Gaara's changed you.' Kyle thought, his puppet straightening its vest. Then, Kyle noticed Haku pointing his katana..towards him!

"Haku, what-" Kyle began.

"Give me that puppet." Haku said.

"Haku, what's up?" Kyle asked.

"Give. Me. The. Puppet!" Haku shouted.

Kyle frowned, then made the puppet walk over to her. Haku took its vest off, searching the pockets thoroughly.

"Where's the ring?" Haku asked.

"Calm down, Smeagle." Kyle said.

"What are you guys doing?" Shikamaru asked, acting noticeably less drowsy.

"He's got a ring from the Akatsuki. I want it." Haku said.

"Why?" Kyle asked.

"So I can destroy it."

"Where would it be if I had it?"

"You said it was in your vest."

"I don't own any vests."

"Huh? But you-"

"Threw the blood-drenched ones out. Are you really going to take the word of me, when I was drugged up?" Kyle asked.

Haku thought about it, and dropped the katana. Then, she began crying.

"Don't cry." Kyle said, hugging her. "I would've done the same thing." Kyle lied. Oddly enough, his difficulty in lying disappeared, and Haku hugged him back tightly, believing it. "You should talk a break. You're working yourself too hard. For instance: you make eye-patches look cute. That's hard to do."

Haku laughed. "We should go home. Are you going to the sand village?"

"Frankly, my friend." Kyle said. "Not a chance. I hate the heat there. Plus, I'm going to be working on something."

"What?"

"Getting a girlfriend, and a puppet. Which to do first, I wonder...Aw crap. Shikamaru fell asleep. Now I gotta carry him."

**A/N: Woot! Forty chapters! I still got a lot to do, though.**

**-MN1**


	41. Chapter 41

A small baby played with Kyle's puppet, giggling and laughing. It'd been a month since Kyle's old village had been freed, and it was doing well. They'd asked if Kyle would visit, and Kyle had said no. Kyle had also declined another eye that was the same shade as his had been.

Kurenai walked in and smiled at Kyle, who was leaning against a wall, wearing his casual clothes that consisted of a black shirt, jeans, and his sandals. His hair was in a ponytail at the bottom of his head, like Itachi's. "Thanks for coming, Kyle." Kurenai said, putting her groceries up.

"Anytime," Kyle said, smiling back. Shikamaru couldn't come, so Kyle took over his babysitting duties. "No, AJ, don't open that...Does the opposite of what I say." Kyle muttered as Asuma Junior opened the puppet's mouth.

"Is there anything in that puppet?" Kurenai asked.

Kyle began helping her, and shook his head. "No. I made a bigger one for fighting. In fact, AJ can keep the puppet."

"That's nice. AJ really likes it." Kurenai said. "So, how are things going for you?"

"Fine. I need to talk to you about something. Or, rather, some_one_. Y'see, I don't know how to, um, ask a girl out." Kyle blushed.

Kurenai giggled.

"What?" Kyle asked, fixing his sleeve so that his tattoo couldn't be seen.

"It's just that I never expected you to ask for help with a girl. I mean, you're kind of a hero." Kurenai said.

"Huh?" Kyle asked.

"You know. That village thinks of the team you were in as a hero, and you've become fairly known since you've done so many missions."

"Doesn't mean I wouldn't have problems with girls..."

"Alright," Kurenai said. "Get Ino some flowers."

"Ino? What?" Kyle asked. "I'm not dating her."

"You aren't?" Kurenai asked, picking up her baby.

"I did once. Didn't work out well," Kyle winced.

"What happened," Kurenai asked, putting a bottle to AJ's mouth.

"She suggested I dye my hair black and start wearing clothes like Sasuke." Kyle said.

"Back when you used to look like Sasuke?" Kurenai asked.

"Sort of. I still do, but since I wear earrings and have long hair nobody notices that our faces look the same. And I have an eye-patch." Kyle said.

"Pirate!" AJ chirped.

Kyle slumped over. "I'm not a pirate," Kyle protested.

"So, who's the lucky lady?" Kurenai asked.

"Annie- err, Aneko." Kyle said.

"You have a pet-name for her?"

"I do?"

"'Annie.'"

"That's just what I call her, like how some people use suffixes." Kyle said.

"Right. That's why you want to ask her out," Kurenai said.

"Okay, I call her Annie, whatever. What do I do?" Kyle asked quickly.

"Well, your birthday is soon, right?" Kurenai asked.

"Yeah." Kyle answered.

"Ask her out before then, so you can go out on your birthday." Kurenai said. "Get Aneko some flowers, or maybe go with her to visit her family. When's the last time they saw each other?"

Kyle thought about it. "A mission a few months ago, when we went to the sound village."

"What happened there?"

"Nothing, really."

"Take her to see her family, then." Kurenai said. "Have you asked her out yet?"

"No." Kyle admitted.

"Does she like you?"

"She gave me a letter saying she loved me."

"Did you ever tell her you liked her."

"..."

"You are the stupidest ninja I know," Kurenai sighed.

"Do you know many ninja?" Kyle asked.

"I know Naruto." Kurenai said.

"Then that's really insulting. When should I ask her to be my girlfriend?" Kyle asked.

"Next time you see her. In fact, go find her right now." Kurenai said.

"You sure you don't-" Kyle began.

"Go! I can take care of AJ myself." Kurenai said.

"Thanks." Kyle smiled, and ran off.

Kurenai chuckled, shaking her head. "That boy's stupid."


	42. Chapter 42

Kyle walked down the street, feeling good. It was a sunny day, the birds were chirping, and...Kyle shook as he felt something wrap around his leg and his.

"Apparently, not only birds are out." Kyle muttered.

"I think," Orochimaru licked his lips, "you have something of mine."

"I wouldn't know anything about that." Kyle lied, wondering if the snake around his ankle was poisonous.

The snake looked directly into Kyle's eyes, and Kyle thought that mean 'I'm poisonous, dude.'

'Man, I'm really high on the insane scale,' Kyle thought.

"Where is my ring?" Orochimaru asked.

"Ring?" Kyle asked, then reached up to his ears. "I only got ear studs. Sorry about your rings."

"Not those rings! My Akatsuki pinky ring." Orochimaru said.

"Maybe your snake ate it."

"My snake?"

"Yeah. Like how a dog might eat someone's homework or something." Kyle said, wondering if he could uncover his sharingan and miraculously learn how to use a mangekyo sharingan before that snake bit him.

'You can't.' Kyle thought the snake said.

'Screw you!...I need therapy.' Kyle thought.

"That's a bit offensive." A guy said behind Kyle, and a dog barked. Kyle could tell that the dog was, as he thought, 'freakin' gigantic.'

Orochimaru jumped from the corner, grabbing Kyle around the neck and putting a kunai up to his throat.

"Back!" Orochimaru said, seeing every one of Team Kurenai (albeit without Kurenai.)

"I'd get back if I were you." Kyle said.

"Orochimaru?" Hinata asked, surprised.

Orochimaru smiled, taking a step back. "That's me." Orochimaru said. "Meaning you know who I am. Nothing good, I'm sure."

Kyle suddenly broke Orochimaru's hold, then ducked under his kunai, making Orochimaru stab himself.

Kyle then ran forward, almost falling, then whirled around when he was beside Kiba, taking his eye-patch off.

"I don't have anything against dogs, for the record." Kyle said. "I was freaking out because of the snake."

"What snake?" Kiba asked.

"An illusion? From Orochimaru?" Kyle asked, looking at the pale man. "For shame, dude."

"Give me my ring!" Orochimaru shouted.

"I don't got your ring." Kyle said. "Furthermore, if I did, wouldn't I wear it? Or have thrown it away?"

"I know you have it. I can _sense_ it."

"Creepy." Kyle said in a sing-song tone.

"Yeah." Shino said.

"Where'd you come from! Were you there a second ago?" Kyle asked, not knowing that Shino would remember that for a long, long time.

"Kyle, what should we do?" Hinata asked.

"Um..." Kyle paused. "I don't know. I'm not the leader. I'll do my best, though." Kyle said, eyes scanning the battle-scene quickly. "Shino, what can you do?"

"My family has bugs that feed on our chakra inside our bodies." Shino said.

"Oh god! That's freakin' nasty! How do you stand it?" Kyle asked, freaked out. "I hate bugs!"

'Strike two,' Shino thought.

"Whatever. Shoot a cloud of bugs around Orochimaru's face, maybe get them to eat his eyes or something. Kiba, do some heavy-damage attack. Hinata, use your byakugan to see if we're going to get any help. Make sure to stay away from the fight, though. If you're hurt I won't forgive myself, and Naruto will kill me." Kyle said. "I'll see if I can use the mangekyo sharingan. If not, I'll tell you to move and fry Orochimaru."

Kiba smiled, happy he got to attack.

Shino showed no emotion, but was angry at Kyle, though he respected his ability to lead without experience.

Hinata nodded, engaging the byakugan.

"Right. Let's do it!" Kyle shouted.


	43. Chapter 43

Shino shot a cloud of bugs at Orochimaru, and the snake-man sliced at them in vain. Kiba used the double-fang, hitting Orochimaru, sending him flying back, making him crash into a wall. Hinata ran back, getting on top of a building.

"Right," Kyle said, focusing on turning on the mangekyo sharingan, closing his eyes. Kyle heard a kunai going through the air at him, and hit it away expertly. Kyle's eyes shot open, and saw that Orochimaru had beaten both Kiba and Akimaru, and had Shino around the neck.

Kyle ran forward, hitting Orochimaru in the jaw. Kyle released the chakra in his fist the moment his fist connected, causing Orochimaru to fly away, letting go of Shino.

"Sorry about the 'I-hate-bugs' thing," Kyle said. "I just didn't know that was possible."

Shino just looked at Kyle. Or, rather, was passed out and Kyle didn't know it.

"I like your sunglasses, though," Kyle shrugged, and ran to Orochimaru. A moment before he reached him, though, someone wearing a black jacket with red clouds on it landed in front of him so hard, he cracked the ground. What was most important, however, was that the man had a giant sword, and had decapitated Orochimaru.

The man slid back, and Itachi, who was in the air, burned Orochimaru to ash before he could heal. Then, Itachi landed and looked at Kyle.

Kyle pulled his eye-patch from his pocket and put it over his eye, then looked at the man with the giant sword.

"How'd you become a shark?" Kyle asked.

Kisame frowned, and slumped over.

"I think it looks cool, actually." Kyle said.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Kisame smiled. "I like this guy, Itachi."

"Have you given any thought to our agreement?" Itachi asked.

Kyle thought about it. "Yeah. How about, after my birthday, I leave with you guys?"

Itachi was pleasantly surprised. Not that he showed it.

"Agreed." Itachi said, and disappeared from sight.

Kisame smiled, rows of sharp teeth showing, and said "That Hinata girl didn't see any of this."

"Why not?" Kyle asked.

Kisame put his hands together and, a moment before disappearing, said "I knocked her out."

"Damn it." Kyle muttered, and ran to Hinata, who was indeed unconscious. Kyle crouched down beside her and did a quick scan, not seeing any injuries. Then, Kyle shook her awake.

"Did is anyone hurt?" Hinata asked, and Kyle noticed she didn't stutter anymore.

"Nah. Orochimaru's dead, though." Kyle said, helping her up. Kyle jumped down and quickly checked Kiba and Shino, healing the wounds they had, then waking them up.

"Damn. My head is killing me." Kiba said, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Whoa. 'Damn' two...no, three times on the same page. We might actually make it up to that T rating." Kyle said.

"What?" Kiba asked.

"He does that." Hinata said.

"What happened here?" Shino asked, standing in front of the giant burn on the ground.

"I, err, burned Orochimaru to ash." Kyle shrugged. "Hey, Kiba, are you dating Ino?"

"No." Kiba answered.

"Well, uh. Ask her out." Kyle said on a hunch. Kyle had seen her pet Akimaru once, and wanted her off his back.

"Why?"

"Because Kyle Uchiha-Meiki, the blind fortune-telling copycat, the ultimate matchmaker, the rock 'n rolla, the out-of-controlla says so."

"What?" Everyone, even Shino, asked.

"Just do it." Kyle said.

Kiba shrugged. "Why not?"

"That's the spirit!" Kyle said, getting down on his knees and petting Akimaru as Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto ran up. "Girlfriend," Kyle said, pointing towards Hinata and winking.

Naruto nodded, and walked over to Hinata, kissing her.

Kyle stood up, brushed his knees off, and smiled. "Job well done, right?"

"What's that?" Sakura asked.

"Burned Orochimaru corpse." Kyle said.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"I killed him," Kyle lied.

"Alright." Sasuke said. "If you ever fight Itachi, I get to kill him."

"I thought you gave up on revenge." Kyle said.

"This is retribution."

'Because that's _totally_ not the same thing, but nicer sounding.' Kyle thought. "I'm gonna go find Annie."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"'Cause I love her." Kyle said.

Sakura's jaw dropped. "You're _that_ straightforward?"

"Why not? It's not like I have to wait for the next chapter." Kyle said.

"What?" Sakura asked, and Kyle held up three fingers, dropping one as a second passed. When he put his final finger down, Aneko jumped from the shadows, crying. Aneko hugged him tightly, cutting off his air.

"You love me?"Aneko asked, smiling and crying.

"Way...more...emotional...than I thought!" Kyle managed to get out. Still, he hugged Aneko back.

'That's out of character for Aneko.' Sasuke thought. 'Wait, that sounds like a Kyle thought...Hm. We're not so different.'


	44. Chapter 44

Eventually, Aneko let go of Kyle, and wiped her eyes.

"Sorry," Aneko smiled, and Kyle took in how much she had truly changed in the time he had known her. Her eyes had become sharper, as had her eyes, giving her more beauty than Kyle had realized, and her long lavender hair went down her shoulders and all the way to her waist, while her bangs had been cut straight in the front.

"How about you two get a room," Naruto laughed. Sakura hit him over the head.

"Thanks." Kyle nodded, standing up and groaning. "I'm getting too old for all this fighting," Kyle chuckled, then shrugged. "Might not need to fight after all this."

"What do you mean by that?" Sakura asked.

"Nothin'," Kyle said. "Hey, Annie, wanna go out for my birthday?"

"Aren't you going to have a party?" Aneko asked, then quickly covered her mouth, blushing.

Kyle looked at her oddly. "No. Why?"

"Nothing!" Naruto said quickly.

"So, how about it?" Kyle asked.

"Sure." Aneko said. "Where to?"

Kyle thought about it, then laughed. "I have no idea where anything is, actually. How about you pick. Anywhere, no matter how expensive."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I thought we solved that I had infinite money."

"You said you didn't."

"I did?"

_In the sand village._

Haku read a report, frowning. She was alone with Gaara in his office, and had a report about Kyle (she had any given to her about Kyle.)

"Gaara, have you read this?" She asked.

The Kazekage, sitting at his desk, said "No."

"Kyle killed Orochimaru." Haku said.

"And?"

"Kyle would've tried to take him alive, not killed him."

"This is Orochimaru. Who wouldn't kill him? And even if Kyle is killing instead of taking prisoners, I don't see why you worry about it."

"I worry about Kyle. He's my friend, and he's been through a lot." Haku frowned.

Gaara sighed, then stood, kissing her on the head.

"Kyle can take care of himself. He's proven it again and again." Gaara said.

Haku smiled, and hugged her boyfriend. "Can I...?"

"Of course," Gaara said, knowing her question.

Haku smiled, and quickly left to go to Konoha.

_In Konoha, at midnight._

Kyle woke up to Itachi standing at his window, looking over Konoha.

"What are you doing here?" Kyle asked.

Itachi looked at him, and Kyle was surprised to see that he didn't have sharingan.

"I'm not evil." Itachi said.

"Huh?" Kyle asked.

Itachi explained everything, and Kyle was very surprised.

"So, you mean you're actually helping Konoha?" Kyle asked.

"Yes. And I know that you are, too." Itachi said.

"What? I-"

"Don't lie."

Kyle looked at the ground. "Okay, I am. But I doubt I'll survive."

"You will. We'll work together." Itachi said.

"But, if we do survive, won't Sasuke want to, y'know..." Kyle dragged his finger over his neck.

Itachi shook his head. "Not when everything is explained."

"Cool." Kyle smiled, and raised his hand.

Itachi looked at it.

"For a badass, you really don't know simple gestures." Kyle said, raising Itachi's hand and putting it against it. "Don't you know what a high-five is?"

Itachi turned to walk off, but suddenly put his hand out, his palm parallel to Kyle's face.

"Sleep." Itachi said.

Kyle obliged.


	45. Chapter 45

"Fight with the eternal flame of youth!" Guy shouted. Kyle looked at him.

"What?" Kyle asked. His headband was on his forehead, where it was supposed to be, and he wore his eye-patch with the Konoha symbol on it.

"That means go, Kyle-kun." Rock Lee said.

"Oh. Thanks." Kyle said, and changed to his fighting stance. Kyle had decided he needed to learn better taijutsu, and thought that fighting Rock Lee would be the best 'short-notice' fighter.

Rock Lee immediately put his hand behind his back. "I will go easy on you, Kyle-kun."

"Nah, go full-force."

"If I went full-force, you would be severely injured."

"I think I just got burned." Kyle said. Rock Lee kicked Kyle's feet out from under him, then went back quickly. "Ow!" Kyle said, and stood up. "I thought you said you wouldn't go full-force!"

"I am not using much of my ability." Rock Lee said.

"What did I get myself into?" Kyle asked himself. Rock Lee ran at him, and Kyle used a fighting style best described as 'Capoeira when you've only been practicing for a few days.' Of course, Rock Lee knocked Kyle down, but Kyle got back up.

"The eternal flames of youth!" Guy shouted when Kyle forced himself back up.

"This 'eternal flame of youth's' ribs are about to crack." Kyle said, but forced himself to go on. This continued until, nearly fifteen minutes of pain later, Kyle blocked one of Rock Lee's attacks, then kicked Rock Lee in the stomach.

Rock Lee jumped back and smiled. "You have gotten good, Kyle-kun."

"That's good," Kyle said, standing normally. Then, he fell on his back, tired. "You win, dude. If anyone ever tells me to fight you, I'll just stab myself."

Rock Lee walked over to Kyle and offered his hand. Kyle reached out and hit it. At first Rock Lee was surprised, but then Kyle said "Dude, I can't see straight. Can you just grab my hand?"

Rock Lee smiled. "Of course, Kyle-kun. I am sorry I hurt you badly."

"It's not hard to mess up my vision, man." Kyle said, sticking his hand out. Rock Lee took it, and Kyle stood.

"Hey, where's my friends?" Kyle asked.

"Their eternal flames of youth went to your house!" Guy said.

"That's odd. You guys want to come?" Kyle asked.

Rock Lee nodded, knowing what would happen.

Kyle had bought a house, deciding that he had lived in the apartment for long enough. It was two-story, and you could go to the roof. Kyle had built his puppet, Sabure. Sabure meant 'sand' in Japanese, and Kyle figured that, since Kankurou was from the sand village and make Kyle realize 'why not learn how to use puppets?', it was fitting.

Rock Lee and Guy followed Kyle into his home, when, suddenly, Aneko came out of a hallway and grabbed Kyle's hand. This surprised Kyle, and he almost fell over.

"Sorry!" Aneko said, realizing she was on Kyle's blind-side.

"Don't sweat it," Kyle said, standing. "What's up?"

"Come to the roof." Aneko said, pulling Kyle's arm.

"Is it about my puppet?" Kyle asked. "I swear it looks like Ultimo by accident."

"Who?"

"I need to stop doing that."

Aneko pulled Kyle out onto the ceiling, where Naruto, Haku, Sasuke, Sakura, Temari, Kankurou (who was looking approvingly at Sabure), Hinata, and several other people who Kyle had met.

"Happy birthday!" They all shouted, including Guy and Rock Lee.

Kyle smiled. "You guys didn't have to do this."

Saika walked up from behind Kyle and covered his eyes.

"Why wouldn't we?" Saika smiled, and walked over to Sabure. "Did you make this yourself? It's very nice craftsmanship."

Kankurou was surprised. "You like puppets?"

"Yes." Saika smiled.

"Master and Mistress of Puppets, they're pulling the strings! Together, now." Kyle shouted.

"Did he do that when you knew him?" Kankurou asked.

"No." Saika said.

"I only started doing that when the orphanage burned down." Kyle said.

'So he could be insane?' Everyone wondered.

"So, what present do you want to open first?" Aneko asked.

Kyle looked at the presents and began to tear up.

"What's wrong?" Aneko asked.

"It's just that I never got presents before." Kyle said. "I mean, everyone else here had a family before, and I just don't know how to act."

That was true. Even Saika had parents before they had been killed by a sudden disease.

Aneko hugged him warmly. "It's okay. Here, open Naruto's."

Kyle smiled. "Thanks."

Everyone smiled.

"No problem," Naruto said, and everyone voiced their agreement.


	46. Chapter 46

"Jeez, why did I make you so heavy, Subare?" Kyle wondered aloud. Kyle sat on the ground, waiting for Itachi and Kisame. While he waited, he checked out Subare. Kyle stood the puppet up and connected his chakra strings to it, then practiced with it.

Two blades shot from its arms, and, should they be destroyed, Kyle had two sheathed katana on its waist (Kyle had practiced how to use swords after his short mission with ANBU, and was pretty good), and a flame-thrower in its mouth. There were no poisons, however; Kyle would not poison an enemy under any circumstance.

Kyle made the puppet stab the air, where a enemy's kidney would be, then kick them in the side of the head. After that, Kyle made Subare stab the ground where the man's stomach would be. It would've been painful, but not lethal.

Kisame and Itachi walked out, looking at the puppet.

"Just practicing." Kyle said, moving the puppet so that it shrugged, then walked over to him, wrapped its arms around his neck, and then retracted his chakra.

"Ready to go?" Itachi asked.

Kyle looked back at Konoha, then down at Orochimaru's ring that was now on his pinky finger. "Yeah," Kyle nodded. Suddenly, Kisame darted forward, putting a long scratch on Kyle's black headband. Kyle frowned, hoping his stay with the Akatsuki would be a short one.

"Do you have a mangekyo sharingan?" Itachi asked.

Kyle nodded. "I only have the left eye, and I don't know how to use it."

"I'll teach you how to use the tsukuyomi." Itachi said.

"Cool," Kyle said, though his heart wasn't really in it. Then, Kyle left with the Akatsuki members, feeling depressed.

_That morning._

Aneko walked with a skip in her step to Kyle's house, smiling brightly.

"Hey Sasuke!" Aneko said, walking into the house. "Is Kyle awake?"

"Kyle's gone." Sakura said. Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all stood in the room, with two ANBU officers.

"What?" Aneko asked.

"We believe he left this morning." One of the ANBU, a man, said. "He didn't leave anything, but there were two lines written on his mirror in makeup."

"It's face-paint," Kakashi said. "What do you think it means?"

"It might be the sign of a village. He was from Kiragakure." The male ANBU member said.

"But these lines are just two straight lines," the female ANBU member said.

"Like the stupid face-paint Kyle wore that one time?" Naruto asked.

"Hm." The female ANBU member said. "We'll have to find out about that. Tell us what happened."

"Not much. He came home from the sand village with face-paint like that from Kankurou." Aneko shrugged.

"Kankurou?"

"He uses puppets."

"Maybe puppets have something to do with this." The male ANBU member said. "Make sure to keep us posted."

The ANBU members left, and Naruto snorted.

"Not likely." Naruto said.

"They'd just toss him in prison." Sakura said.

"I owe Kyle. We'll find him." Sasuke said.

Hinata walked in, an unusual occurrence.

"Hey Hinata," Kyle said.

"Hey Naruto," Hinata smiled, blushing as she always did around Naruto. "What's this?"

Hinata held up AJ's puppet, and everyone looked at it.

"I don't know," Aneko said, taking it. "But it's got face-pain under its eyes, like Kyle had."

Naruto took it, and shook it. Suddenly, the mouth popped open, and a note fell out, along with an empty ring box.

Aneko picked up the note and read it. "Kyle's joining the Akatsuki?" Aneko asked, alarmed.

"Why is there a ring box?" Naruto asked, picking up the ring box.

"It was Orochimaru's ring." Aneko said, giving the note to Kakashi and sitting on the couch against the wall. She sat down and put her head in her hands, about to cry. "Why would he join the Akatsuki? And when did he get that ring?"

"Did he take it off of Orochimaru?" Sakura wondered.

"Orochimaru was burned to death. The ring would've melted." Sasuke said.

"Maybe he got it in the sand village," Kakashi suggested. "Ask Haku. She's still in town."

Aneko stood, cheerful.

"Right!" Aneko shouted. "Let's hurry and get Kyle back!"

"Why are you so happy all of a sudden?" Naruto asked.

"Moping around won't get Kyle back." Aneko said, giving Naruto a thumbs-up and smiling, like Guy would.


	47. Chapter 47

'The Akatsuki is made up of a whole bunch of freaks?' Kyle asked himself.

"Hello," Pain smiled. "I am Pain."

"Err...I'm Kyle Uchiha-Meiki." Kyle said, a bit freaked out at Pain's emaciated appearance.

"So you're, like, Itachi's brother?" Tobi asked.

"Half-brother." Kyle corrected.

"Whatever. Tobi's a good-boy."

"..."

Deidara hit Tobi on the head, frowning. "I'm Deidara, an artist." Deidara said. "Tell me, what is the best kind of art?"

"Music." Kyle answered.

"Music isn't art." Deidara said. "My explosions are true art! Not like Sasori's 'eternal puppets'...yeah."

"Don't argue." Pain sighed.

"Anyways, that's Sasori." Deidara said, pointing at Sasori.

Kyle looked around, and saw Sasori. "Hey, I think I know you. You tried killing me with a puppet that looked like Kakashi."

"That puppet wasn't my best work." Sasori said. "It wasn't even made of real human flesh."

"Wait, what?"

"My puppets are made of real human flesh."

Kyle took a step back, closer to Itachi, his subconscious knowing that Itachi was safer than Sasori, as Kyle saw Itachi as an older brother already.

"I think, when you die, I'll make you a puppet." Sasori said.

"Hey, when I die, just bury my body." Kyle said. "Or burn it."

"How about exploding it?" Deidara asked. "I love explosions...yeah."

Kyle looked wide-eyed at the two 'artists.'

"I think Kyle-chan is freaking the f**k out." Hidan said.

"Wow. That's the first time anyone dropped the f-bomb in this." Kyle said, though he was ignored.

"This is Konan," Pain said, gesturing to Konan.

Kyle nodded, immediately taking a liking to the stoic female. Not because she looked good, however; because she didn't seem as insane.

Kakuzu looked over Kyle, and said "You look like you don't have any money."

Kyle raised an eyebrow, then took out a small bag of ryo and tossed it at Kakuzu. "Looks are deceiving. For instance, my friends think I have infinite money."

Kakuzu had small hearts floating over his head as he opened the bag. "You're rich?"

Kyle shrugged. "I'm richer than when I was an orphan in the Kiragakure."

As soon as Kyle said that, Konan and Pain immediately liked him more, knowing what it was like to be an orphan.

"You've now met the Zombie Brothers." Kisame laughed.

"Don't call them that." Pain sighed.

"Is that everyone?" Kyle asked.

Zetsu appeared behind Kyle, and touched his shoulder. "Boo!" White Zetsu said.

Kyle turned around, saw Zetsu, and jumped back, screaming.

"!" Kyle shouted, trembling and hugging Itachi, hiding behind his older brother.

Tobi burst out laughing. "You should've seen your face!"

"I told you not to scare him!" Black Zetsu said.

"But that was hilarious!" White Zetsu said.

"Now he's freaked out." Black Zetsu said.

"He was already freaked out." White-Zetsu said.

Kyle took several deep breaths, not noticing Sasori messing around with his puppet.

"Your puppet," Sasori said. "Is beautiful."

"Um, thanks." Kyle said, his heartbeat slowing down.

"Who is it modeled after?" Sasori asked.

"No one. I just let my mind wander as I crafted it." Kyle said.

Sasori smiled, and looked up at Kyle. "Looks like you're an artist, as well."

"Just what we need." Tobi said sarcastically.

Deidara hit him again, and Tobi shouted in pain.


	48. Chapter 48

Kyle looked at himself in the mirror. He wore a black baggy pants, black ninja sandals, mesh armor, a black v-neck shirt over the armor, a black eye-patch with a red cloud on it, and he was about to put on the Akatsuki jacket.

Kyle chuckled. "If I'm a monster, now." Kyle said, putting the Akatsuki jacket on so that it was like a cape. Then, Kyle mad the top stick together, and then put his scratched headband around the spiked collar.

"Might as well look like Dracula, my favorite monster." Kyle finished, then turned and left the room. When the other Akatsuki members saw them, they all approved. Except for Hidan.

"You look like a f***ing f***ot." Hidan said.

"He doesn't look that different from you." Tobi snickered.

"You mother f***er!" Hidan shouted, and swung a punch at Tobi. Tobi ducked, and Hidan hit Kakuzu.

"You son of a-" Kakuzu shouted, hitting Hidan in the face.

"Guys!" Pain shouted. "Stop fighting!"

"Just like the orphanage." Kyle smiled, and cracked his knuckles. "Yo! Hidan!"

The fighting Akatsuki members all looked at Kyle.

"I'm gonna get you back for that comment!" Kyle said, and ran at Hidan.

The moment before Kyle tackled Hidan, Hidan smiled approvingly.

_Konoha._

"I'll do all I can," Tsunade said to Kakashi. Aneko sat outside the Hokage's room, being comforted by Shizune.

"How are you?" Shizune asked.

"Fine." Aneko said.

'Suppressing emotions?' Shizune wondered.

"I'm not suppressing emotions," Aneko said.

"Wha-?" Shizune wondered.

"I can see that your thinking that. I'm worried, but I know Kyle. He wouldn't join the Akatsuki." Aneko said.

"That's what Naruto and Sakura thought about Sasuke." Shizune said.

"Can we talk about something I'm interested in?" Aneko asked. "I think Kakashi's dating Tsunade. I mean, he comes here a lot."

Shizune giggled. "I hope they're not dating."

"Why?"

"Because Kakashi is my boyfriend."

Aneko's jaw dropped but, before she could say anything, Haku threw the door open, looking none-too-happy.

"The hell is happening?" Haku asked.

"Kyle joined the Akatsuki. He apparently had a ring," Shizune said.

"Damn it!" Haku shouted. "I knew it!"

"Knew what?" Shizune asked.

"After Kyle got one of my eyes, when he was still heavily drugged, he said something about the ring. He said it was in his vest, though." Haku said. "On our mission to his village, I looked in his puppet's vest pockets, but it wasn't in there. Where was the ring?"

"In the puppet's mouth." Aneko said.

"Why didn't he say that, though?" Haku wondered.

"I heard about that." Shizune said. "And how you lied to him. Kyle is bad about lying, right?"

"Sort of." Aneko answered. "He _can_ lie, but doesn't like to."

"If he was drugged, wouldn't he forget that it was bad?" Shizune asked.

"I suppose so. But why would he lie to me?" Haku asked.

"He probably knew it was bad." Shizune said. "Or thought of it as a secret. Is Kyle a preparatory guy?"

Both Haku and Aneko thought about it.

"Sort of." They both said.

Shizune sighed. "So, it's _possible_ he lied to you, or, at least, he didn't tell the _whole_ truth."

"You're right. It was near the vest, but not in it." Haku said. A moment later, a person walked into the room, looking oddly at the door.

"The door broke the wall." The guy said. He was insanely pale, had black hair, and looked like Sasuke and-

"Kyle?" Aneko blurted out.

Yes, Sai did look like Kyle. It's rude to interrupt the narrator.

"I'm Sai." Sai said, his voice monotone and a fake smile on his face.

Everyone in the room shivered, but Sai didn't notice.


	49. Chapter 49

Kyle followed Itachi and Kisame, wondering what kind of person the eight-tailed beast would be. When they got there, Kyle knew.

"We are here to kidnap you, Jinchuriki." Kyle said, since Kisame and Itachi decided that he would before they left.

Killer Bee chuckled. "Yo, you think you can take the Killer Bee? You can't beat me!"

Kisame and Itachi looked at each other, but Kyle immediately replied to Killer Bee.

"Yo, I can beat Killer Bee, 'cause I'm Kyle Uchiha-Meiki, see, and nobody can beat me!" Kyle said.

Killer Bee smiled. "Looks like Killer Bee ain't the only one with melody."

Kyle smiled. "Word."

"Why are you hanging out with the Akatsuki when you could hang out with a good guy like me, Killer Bee?"

"I can't tell you, yo, but if I could you would understand why I do so. Now, let's stop rapping and start fighting."

"First, tell me where you came from, Kyle of the Akatsuki, and I'll tell you where the melody-rockin' Bee comes from."

"This kid is Straight Outta' Konoha, where the other Uchiha are."

"Killer Bee is from Komogakure, and...can't think of a rhyme."

Kyle shrugged. "It's cool. I could barely rhyme in that last line and fit in a reference, so I understand."

"Are you two done? I want to fight!" Kisame said, then added "You two gave me a headache."

"Haters gonna hate." Kyle said.

"And are always gonna underrate." Killer Bee said, and the two burst out laughing.

Killer Bee reached under his sunglasses and said "Right. Let's blow these guys up and teach Kyle Uchiha-Meiki not to mess with me, the Killer Bee!"

Killer Bee tossed up seven swords, and held them in various places.

"Sonofa..." Kyle muttered. "_Had_ to take the new guy, right?"

"That probably wasn't a good idea." Itachi muttered.

"Really? You know, because it's _always_ a good idea to take me along. I got one normal eye, a whole bunch of scars, and I just turned sixteen. The hell was that ever even _remotely_ a good idea? I mean, even bringing Tobi along would've been a better idea, and he's smart as a bag of freakin' bri-" Kyle was cut off when Killer Bee attacked.

_Konoha._

Aneko looked around Kyle's room, stopping when she came upon a book shelf. Roughly one-fourth of the books were in Braille, while the rest were normal books.

Aneko looked through them, and stopped when she got to Kyle's Braille copy of one of the Make-Out series. She chuckled, remembering how he had been reading it right before that Kakashi-puppet attacked.

Then, Aneko stopped. Hadn't that puppet belonged to Sasori? And wasn't Sasori in the Akatsuki? Then, Aneko saw a perfect thumbprint in black face-paint. Aneko took the book out of the shelf quickly, accidentally pulling three others out in her haste. She didn't care that the others landed on the floor, because the paper hanging out of the book had her whole interest.

It was all in Kyle's sloppy handwriting, but Aneko was able to read his writing (the whole team had learned to in order to read his letters.) It read:

"Dear Diary,

I keep calling this a diary, but it's a journal. I also keep adding the 'dear' thing at the top. I need to stop that. But back to business. It's the morning of my birthday, and I'll be joining the Akatsuki soon. So, I'm just going to write here what I'm going to do. I'm going to join the Akatsuki, then, sometime after I join, I'll run away back to Konoha and tell everyone all I know.

Now you can see why I don't make plans, right? I mean, yeah, I'll probably die, but it's worth a shot. 'Course, I got a girlfriend now, so I'll die with thoughts like 'I miss Annie' or 'I bet she's thinking 'that jackass ran off' and it's all my fault.' I mean, I hope she thinks 'I miss Kyle,' but I did run off after only a few days with her.

What's odd is that I feel worst about leaving her, not about joining the Akatsuki. Well, off to training. I hope I don't have a party. I'd just look stupid, not knowing what to do

-Kyle Uchiha-Meiki

P.S. My name's got a really nice ring to it. Okay, that last comment ruined the epic feeling of this note.

P.S.S. If Aneko reads this, just know I'll be blushing. Or is that too girly?"

Back in Kyle's room, Aneko hugged the note, finally crying.

"I miss you, Kyle." Aneko admitted. "I want you to come back." Then, Aneko looked up, a flame in her eyes. She wiped her tears, and ran to the Hokage.


	50. Chapter 50

"Hello." Sai said with his fake smile, standing in front of Team Kakashi. "I'm Sai."

The Team looked at him.

"Why do we get a whole bunch of guys who look like Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Hm." Sasuke said.

"This guy's creeping me out." Sakura said.

"Why did we even get a replacement?" Haku asked. "There's five people on the team, not counting me."

"You're my level," Kakashi said. "They count you as a teacher."

"What is with the messed-up rules in Konoha?" Aneko asked. "In the sound village, it was three genin or chunin and one jonin."

"You usually never talk about the sound village." Sakura said.

Aneko shrugged. "Guess I'm just missing Kyle, so I'm acting like him."

"Kyle, the traitorous bastard?" Sai asked.

Aneko clenched her fists. "We have proof that Kyle isn't actually with the Akatsuki."

Sai still had his creepy fake smile. "Sure."

Aneko's fists unclenched, and she copied Sai's smile, tilting her head slightly so her long lavender hair shifted.

"I _sure_ hope that we _never_ find Kyle so we get to stay with you, Sai." Aneko said, causing everyone in the room (Sai included) to shiver. Sai was surprised that Aneko caused him to have emotions, and immediately asked her about it.

"How did you cause me to shiver?" Sai asked.

Aneko turned back to normal, and shrugged. "I dunno."

'Hm. Does Kyle make others act more like him when they get close to him?' Sasuke wondered.

"Can we meet somewhere else, maybe alone?" Sai asked.

"I got a boyfriend," Aneko said.

"Who?"

"The 'traitorous bastard,' Kyle Uchiha-Meiki." Aneko said.

Sai blushed brightly. "Oh."

"Yeah." Haku rolled her eye. "Not the greatest idea to insult her boyfriend, Sai."

"Where are we supposed to look for Kyle at?" Sai asked.

"We don't know," Kakashi admitted. "Some of the advisors think we should wait for Kyle to come to us."

"But," Haku said, tapping the spot over her eye-patch- a habit she had when stressed. "The Akatsuki might realize his intentions. Kyle's strong, but not as strong as all of the Akatsuki combined."

Sai's eyes kept flicking to Aneko, though he tried to focus on the speaker, as books said to. "I see the...um, problem."

"The advisors are split, though our team isn't." Haku said. "We want Kyle back. The sooner, the better."

Sai nodded, eyes looking over Aneko's face. He found her large brown eyes attractive, and her pale skin (though it was tan compared to Sai's) perfectly at odds with her hair color. "I see."

"You would if you weren't checking out Aneko!" Naruto laughed.

Sai looked at Naruto. "Who would believe a boy without a penis?"

Naruto's eye twitched, and the rest of the team held him back.

_With the Akatsuki._

I stood up, my hands getting cut on the splinters of wood. Killer Bee had destroyed Subare, and my puppet's head was looking at me.

I picked it up, then looked at the fierce whirlwind that was Kisame and Killer Bee fighting.

Itachi grabbed my arm and began to pull me away. Like a child with a toy, I held Subare's head to my chest as I began to run with my older brother.

"What are we doing?" I asked.

"We weren't prepared," Itachi said. "We're leaving."

"Won't Pain get pissed off?"

"If he does, it won't help him toward his goal. And his goal is everything to him."

"Why don't you just say 'no'?"

**A/N: I'm portraying the Akatsuki as a ragtag group of friends, not as an ultra-serious organization ('cause that's how the Marioninja rolls, yo, and you know that 'cause I told you so!...I'll stop rapping now. Though it was fun to make up all the rhymes :D)**

**-MN1**


	51. Chapter 51

"Crap," Kyle sighed, sitting down heavily in front of Tobi, who had a couple toys.

"Kyle wants to play with Tobi?" Tobi asked.

Kyle shrugged. "What are we playing?"

"House. You can be the grandpa that is grumpy all the time." Tobi said.

Kyle stared blank-faced at Tobi, then began to play. "Hey," Kyle said in a southern drawl. "Ah'm Biyll."

"Hey Bill!" Tobi said, holding up a toy dog. "I'm Tobi."

"A talkin' dog! Witchcraft!" Kyle shouted in character, then made the toy fall over. "Ah'm havin' a heart attack! I'm comin', Elizabeth!"

Across the room, Itachi and Kisame told Pain what happened.

Pain wasn't angry. "At least Kyle got experience." He shrugged.

Itachi watched Kyle play with toys with Tobi, who was making his toy dog attack Kyle's character, 'Biyll.'

"Is Konoha searching for Kyle?" Itachi asked as Tobi tackled Kyle, tickling him.

"Help!" Kyle laughed so hard he began crying. "I can't...Breathe!"

"Of course." Pain said. "He's a missing-nin."

Deidara ran over to Tobi and hit him on the head.

"Act serious! We're the Akatsuki, not a daycare-un!" The blonde shouted.

Tobi and Kyle looked at each other, then they both tickled Deidara.

"HAHAHA...STOP, DAMN IT! I'LL...HAHA!...BLOW YOU TO BITS-UN!" Deidara shouted.

"Though they don't know where he is." Pain said over Deidara.

"Shut the f**k up you f***ing f***ers!" Hidan shouted.

Tobi, Kyle, and Deidara looked at each other, then jumped on the Jashinist, and began tickling him. The cuss words spewed forth from the act would've gave any prudish being a heart-attack.

Kisame growled, another headache forming.

_Konoha._

"Are you sure you don't want to go on a date with me, Annie-chan?"

"Sai, call me Annie again and I'll rip your..." Aneko sighed, closing her eyes and counting to ten. She never had anger problems before. Of course, no one bothered her like Sai did. Sure, some had asked her out once, but quit when she said no. But Sai kept asking over and over, never seeming to give up. Then he learned that Kyle called her 'Annie,' Aneko could barely keep from hitting him.

'I promise,' Aneko thought, 'if I find out who told him Kyle called me Annie, I _will_ kill them.'

Across the room, Naruto suddenly began sweating, his heart beating and his 'fight-or-flight' response began working at the speed of light. Tsunade walked out of her office, followed by Shizune and Killer Bee just as Naruto began to stand up, looking at the door.

"Yo, blond kid, you look green. Don't worry: the Bee ain't mean!" Killer Bee rapped.

Aneko face-palmed, and Tsunade glared at 'the Bee.'

"Killer Bee did, indeed, fight Kyle." Tsunade said. "Itachi and Kyle retreated, however, while Kisame distracted Killer Bee. Then, Kisame disappeared, using a jutsu."

"Did you try to follow them?" Aneko asked.

"I didn't, yo, or I'd have told you so." Killer Bee said.

"A simple yes or no would suffice." Sasuke said.

Haku sighed, her arms crossed while she tapped the spot above her eye-patch.

"Yo, you got one eye, like that fly-guy Kyle." Killer Bee said.

"'Fly-guy'?" Aneko asked.

"We had a little rap battle, yo, and that Uchiha-Meiki has some serious melody." Killer Bee said.

Aneko snickered, then burst out laughing. At first, no one else laughed, then Haku did the exact same thing. It continued until everyone in Team Kakashi (except Sasuke) was laughing.

Haku wiped her eyes, reaching under her eye-patch to wipe her eye. "Well, Killer Bee, I have one of Kyle's eyes, and he has one of mine."

"Killer Bee wants to hear this story." Killer Bee said.

"Take a seat, then." Haku said. "I guess Aneko and I will tell the story, and we'll try to tell all that we now. Kyle still hasn't told everyone everything."


	52. Chapter 52

"Three days of playing toys with Tobi." Kyle sighed, laying down in his bed. "I'm going to go insane." Due to a lack of space, Kyle was sleeping in the same room as Itachi. He got a separate bed, of course, but Pain still felt bad for him , though Kyle assured that he didn't mind sharing a room. Konan felt bad too, but didn't show it until Pain left, when she hugged Kyle, said sorry, and left quickly. Kyle didn't tell a soul, since he figured Konan would want it that way.

"That's why no one else plays with Tobi." Itachi said.

Kyle got under his blankets and was about to go to sleep when Itachi said "Kyle." If any other person said it, it would've been a question, but, as Kyle thought, 'the Uchiha family have serious issues with showing emotions.'

"Yeah?" Kyle asked.

"When I die, take one of my eyes." Itachi said. "We have been training with the mangekyo sharingan, so you will go blind."

"Won't I go blind normally?" Kyle asked, alarmed.

"Yes, but you'll go blind faster." Itachi said. "When you take my eye, you will never go blind again."

"Why are you talking about this?"

"I'm dying of a sickness. There is no cure, and I've only been living because of several medicines."

Kyle would've sat up in bed, but the training session Itachi had with him made him much too tired to move.

"Good night, Kyle." Itachi said.

Kyle thought about it. His older half-brother was dying, Sasuke probably thought he was a traitor, and Aneko probably hated him. Kyle decided that it was best to continue with his plan, since he couldn't think of anything else.

"Good night, Itachi." Kyle said.

_The next morning._

Kyle was dressed in his usual Akatsuki clothes when, suddenly, an explosion rocked the cave they'd been staying in.

"Damn it!" Hidan shouted, literally kicking the room's door open. "F**k!"

"What is happening?" Itachi asked.

"Konoha ninja!" Hidan said. "They're trying to get you two."

Kyle was about to ask what he meant by that, but realized that he and Itachi were the only Akatsuki from Konoha.

'Wait, is Tobi from Konoha?' Kyle wondered, then thought 'Who would actually _want_ him back, though?'

"Kyle! Pay f**king attention!" Hidan shouted, then suddenly stopped moving. Then, they heard someone yawn.

"What a drag," Shikamaru said. "I was going to stay home and sleep, then I was woken up and taken on a two-day trip just to bring you back to Konoha."

Hidan looked right at Kyle and Itachi, with a look in his eye that clearly said 'kill him!'

Kyle thought about it. Go home now, or go back to Konoha as a missing-nin?

Kyle looked at Itachi.

"Do you...?" Kyle asked, trailing off. Itachi knew what he meant, though, and nodded.

Then, Kyle swung a punch that knocked the dirty-mouthed Jashinist out. Kyle stepped over him, and Itachi followed.

"Shikamaru, Itachi. Itachi, Shikamaru." Kyle said. "Itachi is a missing-nin who's actually for Konoha, Shikamaru is a lazy guy who's actually really awesome. Now, let's get out of here."

Kyle turned, and saw Sasuke, standing, his fists clenched. His eyes were now the sharingan, and were glaring daggers at Itachi.

"Sasuke, we'll talk after we get out of here." Kyle said, moving in front of Itachi. "He's not evil."

Kyle thought Sasuke would kill him, then Itachi, but, suddenly, Sasuke calmed down.

"I believe you." Sasuke said, and turned. But, before he left the hallway, he said "But I _will_ kill him if his story doesn't make up for what he did."

"That's better than what I'd hoped." Kyle admitted, and ran down the hallway. "Follow me."

Everyone noticed how quickly Kyle took the role of leader, and Itachi smiled, if only for a millisecond, feeling proud of his little brother.


	53. Chapter 53

The team followed Kyle as he quickly ran through the hallways.

"Where is the rendezvous point?" Kyle asked.

"About a mile from the front of the cave." Shikamaru answered.

Kyle turned a corner, and Kisame grabbed him around the neck.

"Leaving, little traitor?" Kisame asked, tossing Kyle down the hall. "Itachi, kill the other two!"

Itachi looked directly into the Akatsuki's eyes, and Kisame growled.

"Traitor." Kisame said.

Everyone in the hallway heard a sound not unlike a waterfall, and turned to Kyle. Blood ran along his forehead down to his cheek, and he was surrounded by water.

"This is the first time I used this jutsu in a long time," Kyle said. "The first jutsu I ever learned." Then, the water shot forward, blowing Kisame away. "Let's go." Kyle commanded, and the others followed.

"Is Kisame dead?" Sasuke asked.

"No." Kyle said, bumping into Aneko, who had heard his jutsu. Immediately, she hugged him, crying.

"Why'd you run off?" Aneko asked.

'Why is she so emotional around Kyle?' Sasuke wondered.

"It was a bad decision," Kyle admitted when, suddenly, an explosion rocked the cave, just like before.

"Who is that?" Aneko asked.

"Deidara." Kyle said, and stood. "You four, get out of here."

"What are you going to do?" Itachi asked.

"Something stupid, reckless, and dangerous." Kyle said, and disappeared.

In the main room of the cave, Deidara was attempting to kill whatever ninja he saw while the rest of the Akatsuki evacuated. Deidara knew that they all were almost gone, and was going to leave, when he saw Kyle.

"Kyle!" Deidara said. "Hurry and leave-un!"

"That's not happening, Deidara." Kyle said. "Come with me."

Deidara frowned. "What do you mean-un?"

"We need your information, Deidara." Kyle said.

"You think I would betray the Akatsuki, yeah? You're wrong-un!" Deidara said, tossing an explosive at Kyle. Kyle used some sand he had in a small patch to cover it, getting rid of the explosion. "A sand jutsu, hm? You've been keeping some of your talents hidden-un."

"It's my habit." Kyle shrugged, moving closer to Deidara.

"C'mon Kyle-un." Deidara said. "Think of what could be gained for you if you work with the Akatsuki...yeah."

"I don't want anything to do with the Akatsuki." Kyle said. "Honestly, the only thing I liked about the Akatsuki was really the people. Don't you want to come to Konoha, make some friends and become a normal ninja?"

Deidara threw explosives at Kyle, who was knocked back by the explosion.

"That may have worked on Sasuke, but that won't work on me-un." Deidara said, and then ran at Kyle, grabbing him around the waist. Kyle tried forcing him off, but couldn't.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kyle shouted, putting his hands around Deidara's hips to get him off. Then, when his hand went into Deidara, he understood. Kyle put his left hand on Deidara's lower back, finding holes where Deidara used clay against him.

"If you had your eye-patch off," Deidara said, his face losing all of its color, "you would've seen that this was my clay clone jutsu-un. The explosive clay was from this clone, so you know it's going to explode...yeah. And, now that you're going to die, I just have to tell you that I hate the sharingan-un."

"Damn." Kyle said. "To think I thought of you as a friend. I'm going to flip you off from heaven."

"Never forget, Kyle. Art is an...EXPLOSION!" Deidara said, and exploded. But a moment before he exploded, Haku cut off Kyle's left arm from the elbow down and pulled him away from the explosion, saving his life. Kyle screamed in pain, but forced himself to use his healing-nin abilities to stop the bleeding. Haku grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him out of the cave, to the other ninja.

"What happened to Kyle?" Hinata asked.

"I cut his arm off. Full explanation later." Haku said, knowing the cave was collapsing. "Are there any other ninja in the cave?"

"No." Hinata said, using the byakugan.

"Good." Haku sighed. "The mission's over. Kyle's back."

"Get me to the others." Kyle said. He fixed his jacket so that he wore it like Itachi did, his hand hanging out of it like Itachi's had. Then, he put his headband in his pocket, a reminder of what had happened.


	54. Chapter 54

A week after he got back, Kyle walked with Kakashi to the training grounds, wearing his usual clothes, though now he had a long-sleeve black shirt and a black glove on his left hand.

"Where were you two?" Sakura asked.

"Well..." Kakashi said.

"We, err..." Kyle said.

"Helped a kitten out of a tree for a little girl." Kakashi said.

"But the kitten suddenly turned into a cat-girl." Kyle said.

"So, using our ninja abilities, we saved the little girl who had been forced into tricking us." Kakashi said.

"Then, we had to teach the cat-girl right and wrong, as all good men are expected to do." Kyle said.

"Being a long, hard lesson to learn, we were late." Kakashi said.

"But we saved several lives, so it was worth it." Kyle said.

The others stared blankly at the two.

"It's true." Kyle shrugged.

"What's with your hand?" Haku asked, sitting where Kyle usually sat.

"Um," Kyle said, pointing to where Haku was sitting. "That's my seat."

"It doesn't have your name on it." Haku said.

"It does, actually." Kyle said.

Haku looked at the tree, where 'Kyle Uchiha-Meiki' was carved.

Haku laughed, moving.

"Thanks." Kyle said, laying under the tree, putting his right hand under his head and laying his left hand on his stomach. "As to your question, you'll see what's up with my hand soon."

Itachi walked out of the forest, wearing a black jacket that was like his Akatsuki jacket. Kyle had a talk with Sasuke about Itachi, and had told him everything that had happened. Sasuke understood, and now Itachi lived with the two for the rest of his life.

"Hello," Itachi nodded, standing beside Sasuke and Kyle.

"'Sup?" Kyle asked.

"I want to see you two fight." Itachi said.

"So does Haku." Kyle smiled. "Hopefully, I don't bore you."

"Right," Kakashi said. "Who wants to go first?"

Everyone looked expectantly at Kyle.

"What?" Kyle asked. "Are you guys really _that_ eager to see what's under the clothes on my arm?"

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted.

Kyle frowned, and stood up, brushing himself off.

"And who will fight Kyle?" Kakashi asked.

Kyle played with his eye-patch as they all decided on Haku.

"Don't worry." Haku smiled. "I won't hurt you too bad."

Kyle just began singing to himself. _"Hear the sound of the falling rain/Coming down like an Armageddon flame/The shame/The ones who died without a name."_

"Go." Kakashi said, reading his book.

Haku charged at Kyle, lowering her eye-patch, though her eyelid stayed closed. She began using a chidori, but Kyle grabbed her wrist. The electricity went through his arm, causing him to fly across the field.

Kyle landed a few feet back on the ground, then stood and rolled his sleeve off, showing grey steel where his arm used to be.

"Y'know, Haku," Kyle said, a blade coming out of his robotic forearm. "Kankurou did wonders to this prosthetic arm."

"What the hell?" Naruto asked.

Kyle flexed his fingers, then put the blade up. "Still want to fight?"

Haku smiled, determined. "You bet."

Kyle quickly did a jutsu, and a ball of fire appeared in his metal hand. Then, he charged at Haku.


	55. Chapter 55

Kyle threw the fireball at Haku, but she jumped over it and tossed a kunai at Kyle. Kyle nonchalantly grabbed it, scratching his metal armor's palm.

"I'll have to fix that later." Kyle shrugged, dropping the kunai. Kyle quickly did another jutsu, and stood on top of a wave. "Cool thing about Meiki," Kyle said. "We can do every jutsu under the sun." Kyle rode the wave forward, and, at the last moment before crashing into Haku, he fell into the wave and tackled her, drenching both of them. While on the ground, Kyle lifted his eye-patch, and Haku froze, trapped in a genjutsu.

"Kyle, what did you just do?" Kakashi asked, worried that the Meiki-Uchiha had used one of the more ruthless genjutsu Itachi had.

"One of my own genjutsu." Kyle said. "It's not bad or anything. Haku just thinks she's tied down, with weights keeping her from standing."

Kakashi sighed, and nodded. "Kyle wins!"

Kyle undid the genjutsu, and Haku looked at her wrists, confused. "How can you do a genjutsu? Only smart people can."

Kyle slumped over.

"Oh! Not that you're stupid or anything, but...sorry." Haku blushed. Kyle put his hand out, a crooked smile on his face. Haku took it, then quickly let go of it.

"Afraid of a prosthetic arm?" Kyle asked.

"I'm afraid I'll pull it off." Haku admitted.

"It's connected to me, so don't worry." Kyle said, though he still stuck his right arm out. "Hey, who thinks I look like Alphonse from Fullmetal Alchemist?...Blank stares all around!" Kyle smiled, turning quickly and putting different gloves on. These gloves were fingerless, like Kakashi's. Then, took his backpack off, then his vest, and took a short-sleeve black shirt off.

"Stop watching, fangirls." Kyle said, taking his shirt off. Several of the team looked away. Aneko watched because, well, she thought Kyle was sexy, as was Haku, who was also rethinking her relationship with Gaara. Sasuke looked to see the scar he put on Kyle, regretting it. Itachi watched because he wanted to see what scars his baby brother had.

Kyle put his shirt on, then his vest. "All done. What now?" Kyle asked, putting his headband back around his neck. "Why's everyone blushing? Except for Kakashi. I read that book, and I know why he's blushing."

Kakashi giggled pervertedly, then said "Naruto, you fight Sakura."

Kyle sat down in his spot, then fell asleep.

_In Kyle's house._

No one really called Kyle's house 'Kyle's house.' Sure, it was owned by Kyle Uchiha-Meiki, but everyone now called it the Uchiha house, since two-and-a-half of the people living there were Uchiha. Only one-half was Meiki.

Kyle sat in his room, looking at a few items. There was a torn Akatsuki jacket, a scratched headband, and a ring on a new bookshelf Kyle had bought for a single purpose: to store everything he'd gotten over his time as a ninja. Beside those items were the old headband Kyle wore over his eyes, the first headband Kyle ever got (a basic blue-cloth one), and the puppet Kyle had given AJ.

Kyle stood up and yawned, then went to see how Itachi was doing. When Kyle opened the door to Itachi's room, he nearly bumped into Itachi.

"Hey, that's odd." Kyle smiled.

"Kyle," Itachi said. "Will you help me?"

"With what?" Kyle asked.

"I have stolen a tailed-beast from the Akatsuki, though they have not noticed it yet, and I want to seal it into you." Itachi said. He, admirably, didn't blink.

Kyle nodded. "I see. Does Sasuke know?"

"Yes." Itachi said. "He said that he didn't deserve it, however."

"Do it, then." Kyle said.

"Aren't you worried about anything?" Itachi asked.

Kyle smiled, looking up at Itachi. "Someone's gotta keep the beast from the Akatsuki, right?"

Itachi nodded. "Follow me."

In truth, Kyle was literally shaking, though he kept Itachi from noticing by putting his hands in his pockets. Kyle's palms were sweating, and his legs felt weak, too, but Kyle trusted his brothers more than anyone else, even though his brothers had both became missing-nin.

'Wow, that's a bad idea.' Kyle thought as he took his shirt off, Itachi beginning the ceremony to change Kyle into a jinchuriki.

**A/N: I think this is a good chapter (it has action, mangekyo sharingan, and is very plot-important), but Kyle took his shirt off entirely too much.**

**-MN1**


	56. Chapter 56

'It feels like I got hit by a truck.' Kyle thought, moaning in pain. 'What the hell's a truck?'

"It's over," Itachi wheezed. Kyle opened his eyes and gingerly sat up.

"You okay?" Kyle asked.

"It took more energy to put a tailed beast within a teenager than a child." Itachi said. "But yes, I'm fine." Then, Itachi coughed into his fist for several seconds. When he pulled his fist away, there was blood in his hand.

"Ohmygod!" Kyle said, but Itachi stopped me before Kyle began a full freak-out.

"That's normal." Itachi said, putting his hand- the one without blood on it -on Kyle's shoulder. "I told you that I was dying. I am, and I'll be dead before the year's end. I used some of my life to put the tailed beast inside of you."

"What tailed beast is it?" Kyle asked, then faked a shiver. "If it's that bug I gotta get someone to take it out."

Itachi laughed, a uncharacteristic thing for him (or any Uchiha, really) to do. "It's the two-tailed monster cat."

"The one that breathes fire? Wicked." Kyle smiled, and hugged Itachi. "Thanks, Itachi."

Itachi patted his brother on the back, then said "Put your shirt on."

"Oh. Right." Kyle said, putting his black shirt on. "Who should I tell about the tailed beast?"

"Your friends, and sensei." Itachi said. "The Akatsuki will likely come after you, demanding the tailed beast."

"By demanding you mean they'll beat me half to death, then kill me by taking the tailed beast?" Kyle asked, looking at his headband. It had black cloth, just like the one he wore when he joined the Akatsuki. They were originally going to give him another color, but Kyle specifically asked for black. Some people wondered if it was to give the impression he never left, but, in truth, Kyle just liked the color black.

Itachi nodded.

"Should I go tell them now?" Kyle asked.

"Tomorrow." Itachi said. "I must tell you something, Kyle. You know Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Yeah. We're friends." Kyle said.

"He is the junchiriki of the nine-tailed beast." Itachi said.

"And?"

"You know?"

"Yeah. He has freakin' whiskers on his cheeks. And Tobi and I once played 'catch the nine-tailed beast.' Tobi said I had to be Naruto because I knew him."

"..."

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You played games with Tobi."

"Yeah."

"Are you sure you're attracted to your girlfriend."

"What the hell, man!"

_A safe-house in Iwagakure._

"Can't believe Kyle betrayed us-un." Deidara said.

"Tobi is sad." Tobi said.

"Why?" Deidara asked.

"Deidara killed Kyle."

"He betrayed us. Kyle should've expected it."

"SHIT!" Pain shouted.

"What's wrong, Pain?" Deidara asked.

"Why the hell are one of the tailed beasts missing?" Pain asked.

Kisame walked in, his arm in a cast from where he had landed badly from Kyle's jutsu.

"Itachi probably took it." Kisame said. "And Kyle isn't dead. I know that for a fact."

"Damn it." Pain sighed. "We're going to go after it."

"When?" Deidara asked.

"After the news gets out that Itachi has the tailed beast." Pain said. "Deidara, 'accidentally' let someone know that Itachi has it."

"The tailed beast is probably inside of Kyle." Kisame said.

"Why do you think that?" Pain asked.

"Itachi is going to die soon, so he would give it to either Sasuke or Kyle. Sasuke was a missing-nin, and can't be trusted as well as Kyle." Kisame said. "The choice is easy."

Pain nodded. "Get on it."


	57. Chapter 57

Aneko wore a purple shirt, black shorts, and had no idea how much her life would change in the next hour.

Kyle walked into the training grounds happier than someone who had been training all night to control his tailed beast should have been. Nobody even knew anything was up until Kyle laid down in his spot and fell asleep. When Kakashi got there, he got Naruto to wake Kyle up. Naruto nudged him with his foot, and Kyle sat up suddenly.

"I'm sleepy 'cause, when I was out for a midnight stroll last night, a freakin' demon was all like 'die Kyle Uchiha-Meiki!' And I was all like 'dude, how do you know me?' But I still knocked the demon out for the greater good." Kyle said.

Kakashi chuckled. "Kyle, go against Aneko."

Kyle rubbed his eyes. "Can I tell you guys that I got a tailed beast before, or after?"

"What?" Everyone shouted, making Kyle wake up all the way. In fact, it was so sudden and loud, Kyle jumped up into the tree, hugging a branch.

"That was freakin' scary!" Kyle said.

"Kyle, a tailed beast isn't something to joke about." Kakashi scolded.

"I'm not joking!" Kyle said.

"Stop it, damn it!" Sakura shouted.

"I'm not kidding!" Kyle shouted.

"Just fight." Kakashi said.

Kyle walked out, fists clenched. 'All right, then. If they don't believe me.' Kyle thought, closing his eyes and thinking about things that made him mad.

"Go." Kakashi said.

Aneko quickly did a screeching jutsu, but Kyle was gone before her hands stopped moving.

"Where...?" Aneko asked, scanning the training field. That's when everyone saw Kyle surrounded by glowing blue chakra, with one tail.

"I wasn't kidding!" Kyle shouted.

Everyone was rendered speechless, even Naruto.

"Itachi stole it from the Akatsuki, and sealed it into me." Kyle said. "Itachi asked Sasuke first. Not that you backed me up..."

Sasuke looked at the ground, the others looking at him.

"Now, do we finish this or-!" Kyle was cut off when Aneko suddenly hit him in the face. The sound waves amplified, and he flew back, smashing against the ground.

"What the hell were you thinking!" Aneko shouted after turning off the jutsu.

"Probably nothing," Kyle admitted.

"I'm serious!" Aneko said, then turned back on the jutsu.

"And you think I'm not?" Kyle changed back normal, then quickly moved his hands. When Aneko hit him the next time, it was a normal punch.

Aneko raised her eyebrow. 'How are you doing this?'

'The jutsu that mutes everything can be used to stop your amplified sound waves.' Kyle said, then did a hand-stand and kicked Aneko away, then grabbed her leg with his robotic arm. Using his momentum, he did a back-flip, pulled her to the ground, then landed on top of her. 'Mom, if you're looking up at he in hell, I'm not getting it on. And stop it.' Kyle mouthed, sitting on top of his girlfriend. Then, he quickly whirled around and began to remove his eye-patch.

But, before he could use his genjutsu, Aneko closed her eyes and used a devastating upper-cut, causing him to fly back.

Aneko undid her gentjutsu and shouted "We're through!"

Kyle sat, crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and began meditating.

'Maybe I should stop the fight?' Kakashi wondered, reading his book.

Aneko tried kicking Kyle in the face, but he grabbed her leg and said, silently, "Let me meditate or the two-tailed beast will come out and rip you to bits."

Aneko pulled her leg away from him angrily and tried hitting him.

Kyle opened his eye suddenly, revealing a very cat-like eye.

"Stop it." Kyle growled, and blue chakra began to surround him. Slowly, a tail began to grow.

Nobody knows what would've happened after that because so much happened in so little time.

Kakashi ran forward and pulled Aneko away (oddly enough, for Kyle's safety.) Several ANBU, led by Neji using his byakugan, attacked Kyle, putting a seal on his head. And, the worst of all three, Danzo walked out, and stopped right beside Kyle, who was being painfully restrained by several ANBU.

"Looks like the monster was caught." Danzo said.


	58. Chapter 58

Two ANBU stood in front of a cage that was rocking to and fro.

"A cage? A cage! Man, lemme out!" Kyle shouted. Suddenly, the cage tipped over. "DAMN IT!"

"Are we sure this guy has a beast sealed inside of him?" One of the ANBU asked.

The other shrugged. "What Danzo says goes. Let's get some ramen."

"Bastards!" Kyle shouted. "At least pick the cage up!"

"And get near you?" One of the ANBU snorted. "I wouldn't even spit on you."

Suddenly, the ANBU was spat on.

"Can't say the same for me." Kyle said, and began wondering if he should spit on the other ANBU, too.

The ANBU that wasn't spat on kicked the cage, and was spat on, too.

"If I get out of this cage, ya'll are screwed." Kyle muttered.

_Across Konoha._

"My hands are tied, Kakashi." Tsunade admitted. "The other Kage are coming here to decide Kyle's fate, and until then the only thing I can do is get him a better cage."

"They put Kyle in a cage!" Kakashi shouted.

"Danzo did. Do the others want to see Kyle?" Tsunade asked.

"Probably." Kakashi said. "At least, everyone but Aneko. She feels bad because she broke up with him, causing the beast to almost be released."

"It's not her fault." Tsunade said. "Someone in the town was shouting that Kyle had a beast sealed inside of him. Danzo decided that, since Kyle's whole family's on parole, he should check it out." Tsunade rubbed her temples. "Why did I approve his request?"

Kakashi nodded. "I understand your situation. Can we see Kyle?"

"Of course. I'll make sure he gets a better cage, too." Tsunade said.

"I'm sure Kyle will appreciate it." Kakashi said, and went over to his students.

"I can't believe they did that to Kyle." Sakura muttered.

"Kyle will be okay." Sasuke said, comforting his girlfriend. In fact, everyone was being comforted. Hinata and Naruto were talking to each other, Sai was talking to Aneko. Everyone but Kyle had a friend. "Kyle can handle it." Sasuke said. "If he didn't want the tailed beast, he wouldn't have taken it. He's the kind of guy that takes responsibility for the village."

Aneko seemed to hear that, and immediately cheered up.

"Guys," Kakashi said, getting the attention of everyone in the room. "Kyle's going to be brought here to visit. He's going to be in a cage, though."

"A cage? What is he, an animal?" Aneko asked.

"To others, he is." Naruto said. That surprised Aneko, not knowing that he used to be a very lonely child. "Jinchuriki are treated like dirt. I know because I'm the jinchuriki of the nine-tailed fox."

"Really?" Aneko asked. "Why wasn't I told?"

"We're not allowed to say anything about it." Kakashi said. Suddenly, the door opened.

"Because my body is your body, I won't tell anybody. If you wanna use my body, go for it, yeah!" Kyle sang, his back to everybody. "Where are we going?"

The ANBU wheeling him in nodded to Sai, then left.

Sai walked up to the cage and crouched, looking inside.

"How are you doing, Kyle?" Sai smiled.

"I'm in a cage that has less room than a grave. But it still manages to be better than one of the orphanages I went to. How is that possible?" Kyle wondered.

"Kyle, you sound very...odd." Sai said.

"I'm freaking out, man! The Kage want to fight over my fate! What if I cause a war? That's exactly the opposite of why I got this thing sealed inside of me!" Kyle said. "I mean, a tailed beast sealed inside of someone is better than it sealed inside of ring, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" Sai asked, looking at the others. 'Stay quiet for now.' Sai signaled.

"The tailed beast was in Itachi's ring after he stole it from the Akatsuki, right? Well, I figured that, if it was sealed inside of me, the Akatsuki wouldn't be able to get it, 'cause I'd have my friends to help me fight them." Kyle sniffed. "But now my girlfriend hates me, and I'm fairly sure everyone else does. So much for my master plan, huh?"

"We don't hate you!" Naruto shouted, standing up and slapping the top of the cage.

"...Aw hell, are the others here, too?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah." Kakashi said.

"That's embarrassing." Kyle said, and everyone heard a click. Then, Kyle gently pushed the door open with his foot and Kyle crawled out. Kyle stretched, and everyone saw several bruises and what he wore. They'd taken everything he had, leaving him with a black shirt, ripped jeans, and his eye-patch. They'd even taken his prosthetic arm.

"Miss me?" Kyle smiled.


	59. Chapter 59

"Kyle, you need to get back in the cage!" Sai said.

"I will right after I use the bathroom." Kyle said, and walked off. Sai was about to follow him, but Naruto stopped him, putting his hand on his shoulder. Surely enough, a couple minutes later, Kyle came back. "Did you think I was gonna run off?" Kyle asked, getting back in the cage. "Man, I'm lucky I'm double jointed or this cage would suck even worse."

"How have they been treating you, Kyle?" Tsunade asked, walking out.

"Like I was in a zoo. It really sucked when they took my prosthetic arm." Kyle shivered. "You could've heard my screams outside. And that bastard Danzo just standing there, watching..."

"It hurts to take your prosthetic arm off?" Aneko asked.

"Yeah. It's connected to my limbs." Kyle said.

"I'm sorry for what I said." Aneko said after a few moments of silence.

"I'm sorry for what I did." Kyle said. "But I'm not done yet. The meeting's next week, and one of two things are going to happen. They're either going to want me all dead, or they'll argue over who gets me."

"How do you know that?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm not as dumb as I look to be. Now, can someone get me my Make-Out books?" Kyle asked.

Naruto snickered.

"What?" Kyle asked.

"I know what you want to do with them!" Naruto laughed, falling over. Kyle kicked the side of his cage, causing it to fall over.

"Ow!" Kyle shouted.

"How many times have you made the cage fall over?" Tsunade asked, smiling.

"I lost count." Kyle admitted. "Can you keep Danzo from removing my tattoo? That guy's seriously nuts. I mean, if you heard what he said to me, you'd be scared, too."

"I haven't been unreasonable." Danzo said, walking in the room suddenly. Kyle quickly shut the door on his cage and locked it, but Danzo saw it.

"Looks like we forgot to take away the pins in your hair." Danzo said. "How did you learn to pick locks?"

"If you lived like I did right after I ran away from my first village, you could pick locks to. Oh wait, no you wouldn't. You'd be dead." Kyle said.

Danzo smiled, and everyone shivered. "I just remembered something else we forgot to get rid of. That ANBU tatoo shouldn't be on such an undeserving monster. Maybe we could remove it right now-" Danzo was cut off when someone threw a kunai at him, hitting the other kunai out of his hand.

"Touch Kyle and I'll kill you." Naruto growled.

"Hm." Danzo said. "Sai, pick the cage back up and take Kyle away."

Sai did as Danzo said, and the team had to hold back their emotions. Aneko couldn't, however, and shouted "I love you, Kyle."

"You too," Kyle said, then began meditating. "Hope I get to see you guys again."

And that was the last words Kyle said to his team for a week.


	60. Chapter 60

'The Land of Steel. Neutral ground for a decision that will affect my life forever. And I thought the cage was bad.' Kyle thought, sitting in the middle of a large room with seats assigned for the Kage.

Kyle was meditating when a woman walked up to the cage and giggled.

"You're cute." She smiled.

Kyle opened his eyes and smiled back, blushing. "Um...Hi. I'm Kyle Uchiha-Meiki."

"I know who you are." The woman smiled. "You don't look like much of a beast."

"I only got this thing sealed within me so the Akatsuki couldn't get it." Kyle said. Kyle had lost weight since he hadn't been fed properly, and probably looked worse than normal. His hair had also been chopped shorter, so that it hung on his shoulders, and his left shoulder had a bloodstained bandage on it.

"That's really brave." The woman said. She had long brown hair, and wore a lot of blue.

Kyle shrugged. "It was the right thing to do."

"Where are you from?" The woman asked.

"Konoha, but I was born in the Land of Water." Kyle answered, then asked "Who are you?"

The woman turned, and said "Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage."

Kyle's jaw dropped as Mei took a seat. A few moments later, Tsunade handed Kyle several letters.

"From your friends." Tsunade said simply.

"Thanks, Tsu...ma'am...Hokage." Kyle said, confused.

"Just call me Tsunade." Tsunade said as Kyle began reading his letters.

The first one Kyle got to had scratchy writing, with a dog's paw on the letter.

"Kiba." Kyle smiled, and read the letter. Apparently, Kiba and Ino were getting along very well. Then, Kyle read all of his friends, all of them saying they hoped he was doing well (though Sasuke's said that Itachi was in the hospital, and that he should hurry to get back.) Finally, Kyle read Aneko's later. It was the same as the others, but had a...slightly perverted paragraph at the end, which I, respecting Kyle Uchiha-Meiki and Aneko's privacy, will not repeat within this story. Just know that it described what Aneko wished to do to Kyle as an apology.

Kyle's cheeks burned red, but he still put the letter in his pocket, folding it as well as he could with one hand.

'She writes more perversely that Jiraiya!' Kyle thought when, suddenly, a hand hit the top of his cage.

"This is the junchiriki that we are all here for!" Mifune said.

"Hit this cage again and I'll knock you out!" Kyle said, bumping his bandaged arm on the bars. Danzo had, in fact, gotten rid of Kyle's tatoo, as well as a large piece of Kyle's skin. 'At least he bandaged it,' Kyle thought.

A few people laughed around the room.

"The discussion for what to do with Kyle Uchiha-Meiki will begin now." Mifune said.

"Killing him would be foolish," Tsunade said.

"Amen, sister!" Kyle said.

"I want him for my village!" The Raikage said bluntly.

"I don't even know what your village is like!" Kyle said.

"Nibi belonged to Kumogakure!" The Raikage, A, said.

"You have Killer Bee." Tsunade said. "Kyle is one of our chunin."

"You have Naruto." Gaara said. "And Kyle was made a chunin in our village."

Everyone paused and looked at Kyle, expecting a response.

Kyle shrugged. "It's true."

"Kyle was born in one of our villages," Mei said, winking at Kyle.

Kyle blushed and muttered "That's true, too."

The Tsuchikage muttered "Damn. This kid gets around."

"I wonder if he's a virgin." Mei said.

"Tha-! Wha-! I-I...Agh!" Kyle said, moving around in his cage furiously. Of course, the cage tipped. "Can't I get a bigger cage!"

Tsunade snapped her fingers. "That's what I forgot."

"Can I just be let out of the cage?" Kyle asked.

"Of course not!" A said.

"Okay, I want to go with the pretty, young Mizukage, the old man, my homeboy Gaara, or Tsunade. Wrestler dude doesn't get me." Kyle said.

"Why you-!" A shouted.

"You can't hurt me! I'm in a cage!" Kyle shouted. Suddenly, A jumped over his table and smashed the cage open. Immediately, Kyle jumped out, behind the others in the room. "Protect the one-armed kid with the eye-patch!" Kyle shouted, crouching down. A sighed, calming down. Then, he moved back to his seat.

"Tricked by a child who never went to school." A said.

"I went to school! I just got average grades." Kyle said.

**A/N: I call the two-tailed beast 'Nibi', like they call the nine-tailed beast the Kyubi.**

**-MN1**


	61. Chapter 61

Kyle sat on the table the cage had been on, letting everyone get a good look at him.

"What happened to you, Kyle?" Tsunade asked, sad.

"A week full of scraps of bad food, a bad haircut, and tattoo removal." Kyle winced. "I really wish you'd have just kept me with you. I mean, it's not like I'm a rabid dog. In fact, I'm more in control than the Raikage."

A smashed his table, growling.

"Case in point." Kyle said.

"I'm going to strangle Danzo!" Tsunade shouted.

"Can I watch? Please? I'll love you forever if I get to watch!" Kyle said. "Danzo's way worse than the freakin' orphanages!"

"Calm down." Mifune said.

"Calming." Kyle said.

"So...Yes, Kyle?" Mifune asked, seeing Kyle raising his hand.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" Kyle asked.

Mifune glared at him.

"I'm not going to run-off." Kyle rolled his eyes.

Mifune sighed. "Five minute bathroom break."

Kyle immediately ran out of the door. Then, a moment later, he stuck his head in the door.

"I mean run-off like leave, not actually running." Kyle said. "Misunderstandings can seriously-"

"Just go to the bathroom!" Mifune shouted.

"Take a chill-pill, dude. Tsunade can probably prescribe you a few." Kyle muttered, walking away. When Kyle got to the bathroom, he did, indeed, use the bathroom. Then, when he left the bathroom, a person bumped into him, pushing him back into the bathroom. Kyle was about to scream when a hand firmly clamped over his mouth.

"Don't scream." A familiar voice said, and took Kyle's eye-patch off.

Mei walked down the hall, followed by Ao and Chojuro.

"That Kyle kid's giving me a headache. Just like all kids nowadays! No respect!" Ao said.

"Kyle had a hard life as a kid...I think." Chojuro said.

"One thing's for sure," Ao said. "He's having a tough time now. An eye-patch _and_ a missing arm. Kid can take a beating."

"Hello Tsunade," Mei smiled. "Who is Danzo?"

"A scumbag," Tsunade said. "I told him not to lay a hand on Kyle!"

"What did Kyle mean, about tattoo removal?" Mei asked.

"He was in ANBU for a short time." Tsunade said.

"My my, Kyle sure does get around." Mei said.

"He's got a girlfriend."

"Oh, no doubt about that. But what happens in the bed-" Mei was cut off when Kyle walked out of the bathroom, slamming against the wall.

"Sonofa..." Kyle muttered, limping forward.

Tsunade immediately went to his side. "Kyle, what happened?"

Kyle looked up, his right eye a kind, beautiful brown. The other was an intense onyx.

"I don't know." Kyle said, and slid down on the wall. Kyle lifted his hand, showing everyone a temporary prosthetic limb. It was wooden, and looked as if it belonged to a puppet. "Someone used a sound-blocking jutsu and performed surgery on me."

Then, Kyle stood up, walking to the room.

"Wait, they gave you their eye?" Tsunade asked.

"No." Kyle said. "They gave me Itachi's. Which means he's passed on."

"So it was someone in your team?" Tsunade said.

"They weren't hurting me." Kyle said, sitting down in his normal spot. "In fact, they just wanted to help."

"How?" Mei asked.

"Well, for one, I have the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan." Kyle said. "But they put it in my left eye, meaning that they don't want me to have amaterasu. Which is also the reason Haku took my right eye _then_ tricked me into getting the mangekyo sharingan. Meaning Sasuke has amaterasu, while I have tsukuyomi." Kyle chuckled. "Two sides of the same coin."

A was angry. "We cannot allow Sasuke that-"

"You don't _allow_ Sasuke anything." Kyle said, standing up angrily. "The Uchiha have these powers, and we use them as we wish. Sasuke's on the right path now, and I nearly died getting him there." Kyle lifted his shirt, showing his scar, as well as how much weight he lost. "Sasuke is a good man, and won't use our powers for evil."

Kyle saw his reflection in a mirror, and forgot what he was saying. Instead, he moved closer to the mirror.

"Man." Kyle said, not only seeing how bad he looked but also that he could now turn his sharingan on and off. Kyle chuckled. "I got two mostly-normal eyes again." Kyle began laughing loudly, tears running from his eyes. After Kyle stopped laughing, he wiped his eyes and said "No matter what village I go to, I'm not missing Itachi's funeral."

The Kage nodded.

"Now, can we please get on with the meeting?" Mifune asked.


	62. Chapter 62

A large gathering stood, watching, as Itachi was buried. Kyle stood silently, tears streaming from his eyes, beside Sasuke, who, though not crying, radiated sorrow.

Kyle was used to losing family- his own mother was killed by his girlfriend, not that he really cared -but to have family you actually loved was much different.

Sasuke felt bad, but was unable to cry. 'I have no tears left to shed.' Sasuke thought, watching his brother's coffin stop. Then, Sasuke thought 'I can't believe a actually wanted Itachi dead. Thank God Kyle stopped me.'

Suddenly, Sasuke turned and hugged Kyle tightly. Kyle hugged him, too, patting his back.

_Kyle's house, a week later._

Mei sat on the couch beside Chojuro, waiting for Kyle to get done in the bathroom. Ao was pacing the room, generally saying things against Kyle's generation.

"Done." Kyle said, walking out of the bathroom. His hair was shaggy, but not as long as it had been.

"How did you cut your hair so well?" Mei asked.

"You pick up a few things on the road." Kyle shrugged. He wore a black shirt, baggy black pants, and ninja sandals, and had a black Mist village headband around his neck. "Do you have my new flak jacket?"

"I did you one better." Mei smiled, and took out a grey trench coat, made of the same material as a flak jacket would be.

"Thanks," Kyle nodded, and reached for it.

Mei pulled it back and said "You have to let me put it on you."

Chojuro's jaw dropped, Ao muttered something about how promiscuous Mei was being, and Kyle nodded, smiling as Mei pulled the jacket over his arms.

'I got a sweet new duster, a hot new boss, and she's from the big titty committee to boot!' Kyle said. 'Can't wait to actually get to Kirigakure!'

'You damn pervert!' The other side of Kyle said. 'You have a girlfriend!'

'Oh yeah...Well, I'm not a missing-nin if I was dragged off by the Mizukage.'

'I'll hit you!'

'Do it! It'll just hurt me! And you! Because you are me, and I are you!'

'It's "I am you" not "I are you."'

'Screw you.'

Walking down the street, Kyle shook his head to clear his thoughts.

'Man,' Kyle thought. 'I'm goin' nuts.'

A man pushed Kyle, and said something rude about Kyle's mother and Nibi.

"My mother's dead." Kyle smiled, holding up his two fingers in a sign for peace. "And a good day to you, too."

The man flipped Kyle off again, and Kyle kept smiling.

"Don't forget to wake your mom up tomorrow, since I won't be there." Kyle smiled, and walked off.

Sai, who had been walking with the rest of Team Kakashi, chuckled.

'Looks like Kyle learned something from me.' Sai thought.

The man tried swinging a punch at Kyle, but suddenly Kyle ducked it, then stood up, looking the man in the face.

"Were I a real monster," Kyle said, still smiling, though now it looked a bit insane. "Would you truly wish to fight me?" Kyle walked closer, and the whole street watched. Kyle's eyes widened, and he stood toe-to-toe to the man. "Would you truly wish to fight a tailed beast that could be let out? Would you fight a caged beast! WOULD YOU RISK YOUR LIFE!"

The man ran, and Kyle laughed, turning on his heel.

"Man, being theatrical's fun." Kyle said.

"Kids." Ao shook his head.

"Adults." Kyle shook his head.

"Hey! Kyle!" Naruto said, running through the crowd. Kyle high-fived him, smiling.

"My brother!" Kyle said, nodding at Sasuke. "Kakashi, Sakura, Sai, and, my favorite girlfriend in the world, Annie!" Kyle said, hugging Aneko and lifting her, spinning her around.

Aneko giggled, then pecked Kyle on the lips right before he sat her down.

"What was with that 'would you fight a caged beast' thing?" Sakura asked.

"Was it too scary?" Kyle asked. "I wanted to do something that would make people go 'wow! I'll remember Kyle as a jerk so when he comes back he'll just be an insane-yet-awesome guy!'"

"That's specific." Kakashi muttered.

Kyle shrugged. "Maybe I did over-think it a bit."


	63. Chapter 63

Kyle drew his duster closer as he laced black boots Mei gave to him up.

"I'm surprised you know how to tie shoes. I think." Chojuro said.

"I could say I picked things up on the road," Kyle finished tightening his boots, then put a black scarf on, then put gloves on. All of his new cold-weather clothes had been provided by Mei, causing Kyle to wonder how she knew his clothing sizes. "But I've used that cliché already."

"Why did you put a glove on your robot arm?" Ao asked.

Suddenly, a light shined in Kyle's eye as he looked out the corner of his eye at Ao. Unfortunately for Ao, he was on Kyle's left side, the side with Itachi's onyx eye.

"Did you just say I have a...robot arm?" Kyle said, venom dripping from his voice.

Everyone noted that maybe, just maybe, the prosthetic arm was a sensitive issue for Kyle.

"No! I, uh, asked why you're wearing gloves." Ao said.

"'Cause my teensy-weensy fingers get cold." Kyle said sarcastically. "And, so I can do this!" Kyle quickly did a hand-stand, smiling like an idiot. Kyle closed his eyes for a spit second, and heard a kunai cutting through the air, aimed directly at Mei's head. Kyle immediately kicked the kunai away, scaring the others.

"What the hell!" Mei shouted. Kyle jumped to his feet and did a jutsu, burning several trees. A ninja jumped out, burning to ash.

"Attackers!" Kyle said, and used a jutsu to create a snowman. "Quick! Frosty the snow-demon, slaughter that guy!"

"What?" Mei asked when, suddenly, the snowman turned six feet tall, grew foot-long ram horns, and two glowing-blue demon eyes appeared in its head.

"Snow-demon claw!" Kyle said, making the demon grow giant claws of ice, slicing a tree- and a ninja -to bits.

'What have we gotten ourselves into?' Ao wondered.

"Aaaand!" Kyle said, the snow-demon walking beside him. "Reveal!"

The snow fell off of Kyle's puppet, Subare.

"Subare mark two!" Kyle smiled. "We don't have snow to practice with in Konoha. How could I make a 'frosty the snow-demon' jutsu?"

Ao face-palmed.

Kyle moved his hands quickly, and smoke surrounded him.

"I think that didn't do any-" Chojuro began when, suddenly, Mei was grabbed by one of the ninja.

"Move and I'll blow her to bits!" The ninja said.

The ninja accidentally grabbed Mei's chest when, suddenly, Mei exploded into smoke, revealing Kyle.

"You think I did a jutsu that surrounded me in smoke for no reason?" Kyle asked. "Porcupine jutsu!" Giant glowing needles shot from Kyle, impaling the ninja that grabbed him. "And grabbing me around the chest is just rude."

Mei walked out of the forest, surprised at what she saw.

"Ao, look at Kyle's chakra." Mei ordered.

Ao nodded, and was surprised. "His power is...is..."

"Over nine-thousand!" Kyle shouted.

"No. It's a very high level because of the Nibi." Ao said.

"This is new because?" Kyle asked.

No one answered. It was common knowledge tailed-beasts had high chakra levels.

Kyle rolled his left sleeve up, checking to see how well his arm was holding up to the cold.

"I want to know how your arm works. I think." Chojuro said.

Kyle was surprised. "Huh. Usually nobody cares, and they just think it's freakin' magic. Well, I took the basic idea of Subaru's design, right?" Kyle said, making Subare's forearm blade come out, like Kyle's blade was out. "The arm is attached to my nerves, but I trigger the other functions with chakra, like controlling a puppet."

"Interesting." Chojuro said.

"This arm cost a bunch to build because I had to buy a whole bunch of iron that could channel chakra, so I could still use jutsu." Kyle said. "I learned how to use jutsu with one hand, but I'm better at using two hands."

"I thought you were supposed to be an average kid." Ao said.

"Two eyes that aren't mine, prosthetic arm, and Nibi say that no, I'm not a normal kid." Kyle said quickly.

**A/N: I love that quote.**

**-MN1**


	64. Chapter 64

Kyle practiced with a katana, singing while he swirled it around the dummy, splinters flying all over the room.

"You keep playin' me like a fruit machine, puttin' in change systematically." Kyle sang.

**A/N: The song is 'Fruit Machine,' by The Ting Tings. -MN1**

Kyle quickly did a jutsu, and shot flame from his mouth, burning the dummy to ash.

"And that's why you don't bring a sword to a jutsu fight!" Kyle shouted. "I wonder if my lungs get damaged from using that jutsu so much..."

"I think Kyle's insane." Chojuro said, shocked at how quickly Kyle stopped using a katana.

"I know he is." Ao said.

A ninja from Kirigakure ran up to Kyle, and began shouting at him. "Hey! This is where people train with swords, not jutsu!"

Kyle poked the ashes with his sword. "I am training. See? I have bested the dummy in one-on-one combat. Do I get a lollipop?"

The ninja face-palmed.

"I'm taking that as I no." Kyle said, sheathing his sword and walking out.

"What's wrong with that kid?" The ninja asked.

"I don't know." Chojuro said.

"Kids these days don't know anything." Ao grumbled.

_Kyle's new, crappy apartment._

"And just when I got a good house, too." Kyle muttered, looking at apartment. It had a couch, all of his old books, his bed, and his coffee table. Everything else, however, was back in Konoha, including the items he gathered over his time as a Konoha ninja.

Kyle smiled crookedly. "I was in the sand village for a bit, and that didn't last. So I think my stay here won't last too long."

"And you could be wrong about that." Mei said, walking into his apartment.

"I could ask how you know where I live and how you got in," Kyle said. "But you're the Mizukage, so any_one_ would tell you any_thing_, and you're a ninja, so you could pick locks. Not that I locked the door."

"I noticed that. Why don't you lock doors?" Mei asked.

Kyle shrugged. "I figured, 'if I'm a ninja and I can't defeat a robber, then I can't become whatever Kage I want.' I think everyone's too afraid of me to rob me now."

"Does it bother you that people think you're a monster?" Mei asked, sitting beside Kyle.

Kyle shook his head. "I've been considered a lot of things. A monster's just someone who doesn't know me assuming that I'm a monster."

"Do you think you are a good jinchuriki?"

"Considering I've only began using Nibi when I wanted, yeah. Plus, all jinchuriki I know are hyperactive, so I think I fit in well."

"Do you think it's ironic the Nibi has two different-colored eyes and spits fire?"

"Ironic h..." Kyle suddenly got what she meant. "Oh. Right. I guess it is ironic."

Ao and Chojuro walked in, and Ao looked disapprovingly at the Mizukage.

"Why did you come to this kid's house?" Ao asked.

"Why did you two come to my house?" Kyle asked. "I'm sure there's no 'everybody come in' sign on my door."

Kyle was, of course, ignored.

"I'm trying to make Kyle feel at home." Mei smiled.

"Uh-huh." Ao said sarcastically, crossing his arms. "He has a girlfriend."

"Just because I'm a beautiful woman trying to befriend a young adult doesn't mean I'm trying to seduce him." Mei said.

"This story is bordering on an M rating right now." Kyle sighed.

"You both need to get some sleep." Ao said.

"Alright. Kyle, where's your bedroom?" Mei asked.

"Down the hall, last door on the-" Kyle began sarcastically.

"In your own bed." Ao said.

"Until next time." Mei sighed, and waved to Kyle. "Bye cutie!"

Kyle blushed, and said "Bye Mei."

"First name basis already?" Ao asked, going down the stairs. As soon as they all left, Kyle shut the door and locked it for the first time in two years.


	65. Chapter 65

"I wonder," Kyle said, holding his right arm in front of his face. "If this is all a dream, and when the dreamer wakes up, I'll die. Or, maybe, that I'm the dreamer, and everyone else will die. Going even further, I wonder if my destiny is a set course that I can't change. Maybe everything all happened, or maybe life is all a freefall with a set ending."

"He's high." Chojuro said to Mei and Ao, who had just walked in. "I think. He's been talking like this since he got here."

"Maybe the dreamer died, so we're stuck with making history." Kyle said. "Or maybe we're all in some odd world and we're all just sharing a dream."

"Kyle, are you feeling okay?" Mei asked.

"Or maybe life is just life." Kyle smiled. Then, suddenly, an assassin bust through the door, throwing a kunai directly at Mei. Instantly, Kyle jumped in front of the Mizukage, getting a kunai directly in the chest.

Kyle slammed to the ground as other ninja killed the assassin.

"The security," Kyle coughed, blood on his lips. "Sucks here."

Then, Kyle blacked out.

***Beep! Beep! Beep!***

I shot up in bed, grasping my chest with my right hand, then holding my left eye closed instinctively. My left arm was asleep, and, apparently, was waking up painfully. I let a small scream out, and Mom laughed, standing in the doorway.

My Mom had long brunette hair, like mine, and big green eyes.

"You okay, Kyle?" Mom smiled.

I nodded, sighing. "I had an odd dream. Wish I could remember it, though."

"Try remembering it in school." Mom said.

"I will, when I'm sleeping in Math." I smiled.

"You'd have better grades if you were sleeping." Mom laughed, walking out of the room.

"Oh, ha-ha! " I said, then stopped and walked over to the bathroom that connected to my bedroom. In the mirror, I saw my short brown hair and my green eyes. I had two, of course. Why wouldn't I? I also had two normal arms. "What's going on?" I wondered.

"Kyle U. Meiki!" Mom shouted. "You're going to be late for school!"

"What's the U stand for?" I asked.

"Ulysses! Are you feeling okay, Kyle?" Mom asked.

"Yeah." I said, remembering that my middle name was Ulysses, and how I hated it (though secretly liked it.) Why did I think it was half of my last name? I grabbed my school uniform- I had laughed when I first saw it; it looked exactly like the ones they had in Bleach -and ran outside to see my friends. Or would've, had I not skidded to a stop to grab some toast. And fight against Mom to keep her from giving me a kiss. I lost, though.

I got outside, where my friends, called 'Team Kakashi' by the rest of the school because we hang out with Kakashi, stood.

"Sup, my brother?" I asked Sasuke.

He looked at me like I was insane.

"Please don't tell me you're acting gangster now." Naruto said.

"I'm not. I just had the weirdest dream. I had a girlfriend, and a brother, and lost an eye and a leg." I sighed.

"You had a girlfriend?" Naruto laughed. "Like that'd ever happen!"

"You mean I don't have a girlfriend here?" I asked.

"No." Everyone said in unison.

I jumped back, like I always did when a lot of people talked to me at once.

"Are you...feeling okay?" Sakura asked.

"'Course. Am I acting any different than normal?" I asked, then looked up into the sky, expecting the narrator to say something. Oddly, he didn't. "You could say anything, now. I like it when we argue." I said, looking at the sky.

"You should really stay home." Annie said, and I blushed like crazy, slumping over.

"Let's just go." I said.

"Whatever you feel like," Naruto said, walking- yes, walking, not running -off.

I walked slowly with them. When I saw a car, though, I screamed, jumping and climbing up a light pole.

"Kyle, what are you doing?" Annie asked.

"What _am_ I doing?" I asked. "It's just a car. I've seen them all of my life."

'No you haven't.' Something said, and I looked around.

"Did you guys hear that?" I asked.

"No." They all said at once, making me fall off the light pole.

"Err..." I said. "How do I normally act?"

"Normal." Annie said.

"This is not a time for puns, Annie."

"What did you just call me?"

"Aneko?"

"Kyle, did you call me Annie?"

"Err...Do you want me to call you Annie?"

I was promptly kicked.

"Wrong thing to say, Aneko." I wheezed.


	66. Chapter 66

I followed the others, not knowing what the hell was going on.

"What jonin do we have?" I asked experimentally.

"We have Mr. Kakashi." Sakura said, walking along Sasuke...along with eighty other fan girls.

"I knew that." I said.

"You do know that I told you." Sakura said. I followed her into the classroom, where Kakashi was standing, his nose in a book. Kakashi put the book down, however, and I saw his uncovered face.

'Whoa. If I was a chick, I'd think Kakashi was hot.' I thought, then asked "Where do I sit?"

"B-Behind me." Hinata said.

'Hey, she's got that stutter from before she began dating Naruto.' I thought. 'Wait, do they date in here?'

I sat in my seat, and Kakashi said "You can begin sleeping now, Kyle."

I frowned as the class laughed. They passed out papers, and, quickly, I finished the paper and gave it to Kakashi.

"Hm." Kakashi said. "An A+."

I smiled as the class gaped at my answer.

'That's right,' I thought.

'Do not get cocky!' The voice shouted. 'Accept the reality and you will die.'

'Who are you?' I wondered, sitting down behind Hinata.

'I am Nibi, the two-tailed demon cat inside of you.' The voice said.

'Two-tailed demon cats don't exist.' I thought.

'Yet part of you think that they do.'

"Kyle!" Kakashi said.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Why do you looked freaked out?" Kakashi asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know."

Suddenly, a woman walked in.

'Mei?' I wondered.

"Hello Ms. Mei." Kakashi said. "Look at this."

Mei looked at it, and smiled. "Kyle, you know something?"

"Guess so, Mei...Err, Ms. Mei." I said, scratching the back of my head.

Mei smiled. "Hm. Usually students don't look at my face. How are you feeling today, Kyle?"

"Honestly? Like this is some dream." I chuckled. "But, might as well go on."

"As do we all, Kyle." Kakashi said. "Are you going to go to sleep or not?"

"Nah." I said, shrugging. "I prefer real-life."

"You used to prefer snoring loudly." Kakashi said.

"Change is good." I said.

"Youthful flames aren't listening in your class, rival!" Guy shouted, nearly bumping into Mei, who was leaving.

"Hey Guy." I said.

Guy looked at me.

"That's my student that's always sleeping." Kakashi informed Guy.

"So, your youthful flame has been ignited?" Guy asked.

I smiled, giving him a thumbs up. "Yeah!"

"Alright!" Guy smiled, thumb in the air.

"Kyle, are you sure you're fine?" Aneko asked.

"Just peachy." I said. "Why?"

"Your eye is bleeding, and your hair was longer than it was a few minutes ago." Aneko said.

"Err..." I said after a drop of blood landed on my desk. "Can I, like, go to the bathroom."

Kakashi said "Sure."

"Peace!" I shouted, then ran out of the door.


	67. Chapter 67

I looked at my face in the mirror. My previously green eye was brown, and my hair was like Sasuke's.

'That is a good sign.' Nibi said, appearing beside me in the mirror's reflection. 'You are changing to your current form.'

"Of course!" I said, wiping my face. "That short haircut was from the orphanage, where they chopped our hair off with old rusty scissors."

My other eye began bleeding, and I cursed.

'Good! You remember the real world.' Nibi said.

"How long until I come back?" I asked.

'I will tell you when, or even if you can.' Nibi said.

I finished cleaning my face off, and walked out into the hallway. But when I turned a corner, I bumped into Mei and, blushing fiercely, I fell back. Or, rather, jumped back when I bumped into, her, um...lady parts.

"Gah! Sorry! Sorry!" I said.

Mei smiled. "Calm down. You're cute when you're embarrassed. Though I swear you had another haircut...This one looks better on you, though."

"You look good, too," I smiled.

'Why doesn't she think my hair changing is odd?' I wondered.

'She is part of your subconscious, Kyle. She finds everything that happens to be normal.' Nibi said.

'Man, my subconscious is messed up.' I said.

"Did you just flirt with me?" Mei asked.

"Um...I, ah...err..." My face was the seventh circle of hell.

"It's okay." Mei smiled. "Follow me, if you want."

'And what hormonal teenager would not want to follow an amazingly beautiful woman like Mei?' Nibi laughed.

'The hell can a cat laugh?' I wondered.

'I am covered in fire. Anything is possible.' Nibi said.

'How are you so nice? Aren't tailed-beasts freakin' evil?'

'I am a, as you could say, tamed cat. I have been taught to be nice to my host.'

'Cool.' I thought, following Mei. We went to a hill with a fantastic view of the school and the city, where a blanket and a picnic basket was laid out for us.

Mei sat down, and patted a spot beside her. I gingerly sat down beside her.

"What's all this?" I asked.

"I'm hurt." Mei said, frowning. "We talked about this for weeks! We were going to have a picnic here."

I suddenly remembered. "Oh yeah!" I smiled. "Sorry I forgot."

"It's okay." Mei smiled, and touched my leg.

'Kyle.' Nibi said sternly. 'Do not accept this as reality.'

'I don't. But lying won't hurt anyone, not since this is a dream.' I thought.

'I understand. Your rules of lying: as long as it hurts no one, benefits you more than it hurts anyone, or it is a game you can lie perfectly.'

'Exactly, my friend.'

Mei slowly leaned forward, and asked "Is this right? I mean, you're just a student, and I'm an old woman."

I put my finger on her lips, smiling devilishly. "You look younger than girls in my class." Then, I kissed Mei. At first, it was innocent, but then I felt her tongue run along my lip, and I put my hands on her hips and let her tongue into my mouth. I wasn't as experienced as she was, but I still tried to keep it up, wrestling her tongue with mine.

Mei moaned, pulling back and letting her hair out of the top-knot.

"You're better than I thought, Kyle." Mei smiled, kissing me on the neck. I let my hands go south of her waist, grinning like an idiot, not knowing what to say.

'Because all of the moves make up for the silence.' Nibi sang. I would've thought something like 'Stop singing Fall Out Boy,' but I thought of something more appropriate.

'Hot For Teacher by Van Halen fits better.' I thought.

And what happened next is up to you.

**A/N: Does that count as cheating on Aneko?**

**-MN1**

_C/N:__I don't know if I even did anything, dude. Personally, I like to think I just walked off after a kiss._

_-K. Uchiha-Meiki_

**A/N: Wha-! You can't invade the sacred author's note spot! And what does 'C/N' even stand for?**

**-MN1**

_C/N: It stands for Character Note. And is the title of the story 'Naruto: Marioninja1's story'?_

_-K. Uchiha-Meiki_

**A/N: Point taken.**

**-MN1**


	68. Chapter 68

I smiled insanely, holding up a black book.

"And I will become the god of my new world!" I shouted.

'What?' Nibi asked, laying on my bed. Nibi was the size of a normal cat, though still covered in flames. Whenever I was alone, Nibi would manifest himself in this form.

I shrugged. "I never referenced Death Note, so I decided to go for it. Anyways, you said I could control things?"

Nibi sighed. 'Since this is your mind, you can control it by thinking about it. You can kill everyone, or bring others back to life'

"And I will become the god-"

'No! You will NOT become the god of anything!'

"Chill."

'I'm covered in blue flames! Blue! That's hotter than red flames!'

"Ghost Rider is still cooler than you, even if his flames are red." I muttered.

**A/N: Yes, I'm a comic-book nerd. -MN1**

Someone knocked on my door, and I opened it, expecting Mom.

"I swear Time Zone by World Destruction started blasting by itself." I said, Nibi evaporating.

"I'm not your mother." Mei said, smiling shyly.

'Shy?' I wondered.

'You find shy girls attractive, so Mei, as your primary lust-fulfiller, acts shy.'

'Wait, what about Aneko!'

'You have not seen her for a long time. Thus, Mei is your main image of a woman. Of course, that can change if you remember something like, say, that letter she gave you.'

A piece of paper fluttered down, and I read 'Dear' in Aneko's handwriting right before it disappeared.

'Oh shit.' Nibi said. 'Kyle, your subconscious is becoming dominant! Are you believing that this is real?'

"No!" I said out loud.

'Kyle, you may be dying.'

"What?" I asked, falling to my knees. "I thought you said I'd make it through this!"

'I said you might make it through this. Kyle, I'm sorry. You've been fighting for several months. I guess it's just time to let go.'

I grinned, determined, then raised my hand. Mei, who had been slowly walking towards me, was smashed by a sudden pillar shooting from the ground.

"I'm not ready to die yet, and I'm sure as hell not getting dominated by my subconscious. That doesn't even make sense." I said, standing up and focusing on things that made me pissed off. Mainly, Rai, the orphanage, and the Raikage (odd that two things I hate have 'Rai' in them, huh?)

"Let's see," I said, getting surrounded by blue chakra, "if we can get my body moving." Suddenly, I grew two tails, and my whole subconscious was destroyed. This would later lead to me saying thoughts aloud, but that happened anyways, so I would've never noticed unless Tsunade told me.

And then, I was back, standing on my bed, completely blue.

'My god, you did it! You stupid genius, you did it!' Nibi laughed.

"Damn straight," I muttered, feeling drained. Nibi slowly went back inside of me, and I collapsed on the bed. "Ow."

Aneko, Kakashi, and Sasuke, who had been standing beside my bed, were now against the wall.

"Nurse!" Sasuke shouted as Kakashi and Aneko ran to Kyle's side.

"Are you okay? Kyle, what's nine times seven?" Kakashi asked.

"How am I supposed to know that?" I asked. "I suck at math."

Aneko hugged me, and I struggled to get her off.

"Agh!" I shouted.

"Right. Can't breathe." Aneko said, letting go of me.

After taking a few deep breaths, I asked "Can I call you Annie?"

"Of course." Annie said, giving me the most passionate kiss I ever had.

Screw dreams. I live for reality.


	69. Chapter 69

The doctors said that I wouldn't be able to walk without a whole bunch of training. I was up and walking like I usually did within three hours of waking up.

"You might hurt yourself!" One of the doctors said.

"I was stabbed in the chest." I said. "I think I'll take a risk by walking. Where's my bloody arm?"

Normally I wouldn't talk to others like that, but they tied me to the hospital bed right after I woke up, so I wasn't exactly happy with them. Four hours after I woke up, I took a shower, with Sasuke telling me what had happened when I was in a coma. He wasn't looking, of course, but he still thought it was awkward. I didn't, because I wanted to know that the hell happened.

"Kakashi married Shizune, and, err, the Akatsuki hasn't done much." Sasuke said. "Can you just wait to hear this?"

"If Brad Pitt can do this in Fight Club, we can do this here." I said. "Why is my hair so long? And didn't anyone think to shave my face? I have a teenage hobo beard!"

"Ah...sure. Well, Gaara and Haku are married, and they might have a kid-"

"Haku's a teenager! How'd that work out?"

"Haku is twenty-two now."

"Really?" I asked. "Guess she has a baby-face. Or whatever you call it." I walked out in a towel, grabbing my clothes. I was going to put them on when I noticed they were too small. "Dude, these won't fit me."

"How do you know? You haven't put them on." Sasuke said.

"I know something about clothes that don't fit. I-"

"Picked it up on the road?"

"...Shut up." I shaved as Sasuke got me new clothes, and got a clear view of my face. My face had lost some fat- due to me growing older, as well as from me not eating solid foods for who-knows how long - so I looked a bit like Kakashi, and the scars I had around my eyes faded enough so that they were barely noticeable. I also had a small line on my chest. "My scar should be way bigger. The kunai was nearly completely in my chest." I said.

'You are welcome.' Nibi said, appearing in the reflection of the hospital mirror.

"I have a healing factor now?" I asked, brushing my teeth.

'Somewhat of a healing factor.' Nibi said.

"How can I still see you? I'm not in a coma anymore."

'You are still insane.'

"Point taken." I nodded.

"What point?" Sasuke asked, walking in with the same kind of clothes Kakashi wore.

"All they had?" I asked, taking the clothes. Sasuke nodded, and I said "Better than 'what you could afford.'"

"How bad was it? In the orphanage, I mean." Sasuke said.

"I was in several orphanages, Sasuke. They ranged from 'better than my coma' to 'hellhole that I'd die if I had to go back.' But, enough of the past." I said, putting my hair in a ponytail at the back of my head, like I did before that bastard Danzo chopped my hair off. "I'm hungry and you still have things to tell me."

"I do? I mean, yeah, I do." Sasuke said. I smiled, realizing he'd become a bit more talkative. "Danzo was executed-"

"I missed it? NOOOOOOO!" I shouted, falling to my knees. Then I stood, put a shirt and vest on, and walked outside, Sasuke following me.

"That's pretty much it." Sasuke said.

"For some reason, I don't think so, but I'll lie and say I believe you." I said. "How long was I out."

"Well, you're seventeen now." Sasuke said.

I stopped for a millisecond, but kept going. "That sucks. Yo! My arm!" I said as a nurse walked up to me, handing it to me.

"Um. Kyle, won't you scream in pain when that reattaches?" Sasuke asked.

"Let's see!" I shoved what was left of my left arm into my old arm, and gritted my teeth as my nerves reconnected. It wasn't as painful, however, and was over faster than I remembered.

'You are welcome once more.' Nibi said.

"And I thank you once again." I said, looking at my robotic arm. Then, I smiled.

"Where's Annie?" I asked. "I didn't get a good look at her last time I saw her, and she's bound to look different. I mean, she's probably sixteen now."

"She's eighteen." Sasuke said.

I fell over with surprise. "Annie's older than me?"

"Yes." Sasuke said.

I jumped up, and smiled again. "Still, where's my girlfriend? Hopefully somewhere with food. I'm hungry."


	70. Chapter 70

Pain's face was crossed out with a red 'X'. Deidara's face was crossed out with a red 'X'. Konan had 'defected' stamped over her picture. Hidan, Kakuzu, and Sasori all had a red 'X' over their picture. I turned, seeing Team Kakashi, and I looked directly at Sasuke, pointing my thumb at the wall that had the Akatsuki on it.

"You forgot all that?" I asked, turning back to it. I looked over it again, taking in all the faces on it. Deidara had blown himself up trying to kill my team, Sasori was killed by Sakura and some girl named 'Chiyo,' and so on. Pain, however, was killed by chakra overuse.

"He brought everyone killed in the attack on Konoha back to life. Me included." Kakashi said.

"Konoha was attacked?" I asked, running my hand over Pain's picture. I still had a soft-spot for the Akatsuki, no matter how much I tried to deny it. "Where's Tobi?"

"Tobi was actually Madara Uchiha, and was using all of the Akatsuki for his own goal." Sasuke said, and I clenched my fists, gritting my teeth together.

"Bastard." I muttered, seeing Madara's photo. "That bastard."

"Kyle, exactly how close did you get to the other Akatsuki?" Sakura asked gingerly.

I smiled, remembering the short time I had with them. "Fairly close, I suppose."

"Get close to the traitors and it might rub off on you, Kyle-chan." Sai said.

"What's a chan?" I asked.

Everyone looked at me.

"It's an honorific for girls." Annie said. I have to admit, Annie was looking more adult than I was. Or maybe that was my mind playing trick on me since I learned she was a year older than me.

'Or maybe it's both.' Nibi said.

'I wish others could hear you.' I thought.

"Oh. I get it. An insult." I said. "Sorry if I'm not at my brightest."

"You never were very bright." Sai said, fake-smile plastered on his liquid paper face.

"'Least I'm not wearing a half-shirt. Is this a gay Euro-disco or a hospital?" I asked, looking at the Akatsuki.

"Well, when you were in a coma, I dated your girlfriend." Sai said.

I didn't know if he was joking, if he was serious, or if he was trying to get a rise out of me. I just knew that, as soon as he said that, my body went rigid.

"Oh, I'm definitely seeing emotions." Sai said.

"Kyle, calm down." Annie said.

I turned, smiling.

"Don't worry." I said, fake smile on my face. "I'm not angry."

"Really?" Naruto asked.

"No." I said, walking toward Sai. When I was within arm's length, I hit him directly in the face, sending him sailing across the room. "I'm goddamn enraged!" I shouted, running over to him and grabbing his shirt, picking him off the ground. I pulled back my left hand, and saw the blue chakra surrounding me.

'Kyle, calm down unless you truly want to kill this child.' Nibi said. 'If you do want him dead, however, get angrier. In one-tail form, I cannot keep all of the ninja in this room from killing you.'

I looked around, and saw every ninja- except Team Kakashi -standing, ready to take down the jinchuriki.

I dropped Sai, then walked out of the door, the chakra around me fading.

'You handled that well, Kyle.' Nibi said.

"I would've killed him if I hadn't already been cheered up today." I said.

'Meaning?'

"I get to go back to my old team. I was told when I was eating. If I had to go back to Mei I would've killed him."

'You are aware you're talking aloud?'

"They already thing I'm insane." I shrugged. "So, what do you think the team will have me do?"

'Honestly? They'll train you and give you plenty of alone time with your girlfriend. Of course, she is probably feeling bad due to how you acted.' Nibi said.

"Why would Annie feel bad about that?" I asked.

'You hit Sai across several feet of a hospital room.' Nibi said.

"Damn it. I've screwed up already?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it." Annie said, sitting down beside me and taking my hand.

I blushed. "Did you, um, hear that whole conversation?"

"Afraid so." Annie said, hugging me tightly.

"I swear, it's Nibi. Nobody else can hear him but me and...I sound insane." I frowned.

"I love your insanity." Annie said. "Though we do have more falling-outs than some couples."

"Only when I do stupid things." I said. "And besides, we're on our seventieth chapter. I'm surprised we haven't broken up yet."

"Chapter?" Annie asked.

"I love you too," I said hurriedly, noticing my breaking of the fourth wall.

Annie blushed, but still gave me a passionate kiss.

**A/N: I've written seventy chapters, and I've still got to defeat the rest of the Akatsuki. This is never going to end!**

**-MN1**


	71. Chapter 71

"And you can sleep in a coffin, but the past ain't through with you." I sang, sitting in my favorite spot under the tree in the training field. I was wearing my headband with black cloth around my neck, a white long-sleeve shirt, a black shinigami robe, ninja sandals, and black pants. My long brown hair was tied in a loose ponytail, with a strand handing down in front of my face.

"Cheery for a man who got out of a coma a day or two ago. Are you emo now?" Annie smiled, sitting beside me, pecking me on the lips and cuddling up to me. I noted that she never did this on my left side, but who would want to cuddle up to a side with an intense onyx eye and a prosthetic limb touching them?

"Why are you looking at me oddly?" I asked Annie.

"Because you just openly said I never got close to your left side."

"I did?"

"Yeah." Annie said. "I get on your right side because that's your good side."

"I have a good side?" I asked, but wasn't heard since Sasuke and Sakura had walked up.

"Hey." Annie waved, standing up. "What's up?"

"Nothing much." Sakura shrugged as Sasuke walked over to me.

"How are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

"Good." I shrugged.

"Why does your room smell like gasoline? And why did you order a lot of machinery, then take it to your room." Sasuke asked. I briefly wondered how a genius wouldn't know the obvious answer to that.

"There's a good reason, I assure you." I said, then changed the subject. "Who do you think I'll fight?"

"I hope I get to fight you." Naruto said, jumping from the tree and landing on me, knocking me down.

"Huh." I said, landing on the ground. "How do you sneak in bright orange?"

Naruto smiled, not getting I just insulted what he wore. Stupid is as stupid does, if that movie is anything to go by.

"Naruto, get off Kyle." Kakashi said, earlier than usual.

"Anybody slow you down today?" I asked, kicking Naruto off of me and jumping up.

"Shizune made me wake up earlier, so I had time to fight the ninja." Kakashi smiled. "Why is your ro-"

"Prosthetic!" The others said.

Kakashi looked a bit alarmed, but continued. "Prosthetic armed covered in bandages?"

I shrugged.

"Can I fight first?" I asked.

"Since you asked, sure. Naruto, you get to fight Kyle." Kakashi said. "So he can repay that stealthy attack."

"Stealthy attack...? Oh, jumping from the tree." I said, then stood and walked to the middle of the field, with Naruto walking behind me. Before the match started, we high-fived, both of us smiling.

"Go!" Kakashi said.

Immediately, Naruto used the shadow clone jutsu, and I was surrounded by five of the clones. I ignored several of the members who shivered seeing my red-and-black swirl mangekyo sharingan, instead focusing on how to fight five opponents.

Of course, I could've spat fire at them, but I figured using that jutsu was getting a bit overused, and I took the bandages off my arm. My prosthetic arm was a bit more sleek, and much more dangerous. I spun in a circle, gas shooting out of my arm and covering the shadow clones, and then I set them all on fire.

One clone, however, dodged the gasoline and got behind me.

"One Thousand Years of-" The clone began when I looked directly at him.

"Do it, and I'll rip your damn head off." I said.

The clone immediately tackled me, looking a bit afraid. I took out my katana and killed it, causing it to erupt in smoke. I waved the smoke away from my mouth, wondering how well my lungs worked. Probably not very well, especially since I used all those fire-

"Kyle! Focus!" Kakashi said.

"I was just thinking!" I said.

"You were talking aloud!" Kakashi said. Suddenly, I was kicked in the back of the head, flying forward. I smashed against a tree, and saw, upside-down, Naruto grabbing my katana.

"All my katana are belong to you?" I asked. "That ain't gonna fly." I moved my hands, and immediately sand surrounded Naruto, coming up out of the ground.

"Sand attacks?" Sasuke asked as I tossed Naruto against a tree, then stood up straight.

"Man, all the blood rushed to my head." I said. "Now I'm dizzy." I surrounded myself by fire, then directed the fire at the sand Naruto was surrounded by.

Naruto smashed through the sand right before my fire reached it, turning it to glass.

"What the hell?" Naruto shouted. "That could've killed me!"

"That rasengan technique you were going to use could've killed you. Did you stop training?" Kyle asked, fake smile on his face.

Naruto shivered. I was, apparently, creepy when I tried to be.

"Hm." Kakashi said. "He didn't lose his fortune-teller ability."

Naruto made another clone and began using the rasengan.

Kyle spread his legs a bit and closed his eyes.

Naruto and his clone smashed forward, and Naruto confused when his hand went through Kyle.

"You're hollow?" Naruto asked when, suddenly, all the color left Kyle, revealing he was gray.

"Careful with that jutsu." I said, walking from behind a tree. "It blew my damn arm off when Deidara used it.

Naruto and his clone immediately started struggling to get out of it when I tossed a kunai to my clone. My clone grabbed it and stabbed Naruto's clone, and the shadow clone turned to smoke. Then, my clone put the kunai up to Naruto's neck.

"I'd suggest you give up, Naruto." I said. Suddenly, my clone went stiff, and cracked into pieces. "Huh. Channeling your chakra into the explosive clay so it went brittle." I chuckled. "I guess I'll have to work out the kinks in my recipe."

Naruto flexed his hand, powder from the clay on his hand.

"If only you were normal." I said. "You have so much chakra you could do that to several of my clones. A normal person could only do it to two." I opened a compartment on the forearm of my prosthetic arm. It was a rectangle, and held a single block of explosive clay that could make either one fully-made clone or two hollow clones. I took the rest of the clay, dropped it on the ground, used chakra to make it into a clone of me, and both of us smiled. Once again, my team shivered.

I resisted the urge to shout 'I'm not that scary!' at them.

Suddenly, Naruto created five clones. Each one grabbed one of my limbs while the fifth one tackled my clone, and the real Naruto ran forward, socking me in the face with a right hook. I fell backwards, but the clones pulled me back up straight.

I felt blood start coming out of the left side of my mouth as I focused. Suddenly, two chidori formed in my hands, electrocuting the clones.

"Sensei, this is getting dangerous." Sakura said.

"It was always dangerous." Kakashi said. "They're two junchiriki."

I tried to hit Naruto with one, but he dodged, grabbed my hand, and forced my hand back to my chest, electrocuting me. I managed to grab his leg, sending electricity through his body, right before I flew back.

Both of us smashed into trees on opposite sides of the field. Smoke rose out of the hole in my clothes on my chest, and Naruto's pants were smoking from the hole on his leg. Naruto began charging at me, creating another rasengan.

"Another rasengan?" I wondered. When Naruto got close to me I made sand fly from the ground, launching me into the sky. Then, I spat fire at Naruto from the sky, burning the spot he had been on. But, a second before Naruto was burned, he jumped out of the way.

"That all you got, Kyle?" Naruto asked.

"No." I said, landing a few feet from Naruto. "You forgot about my clone."

Suddenly, my clone grabbed Naruto around the neck.

"Now, if you don't give up I'll snap your neck and blow your corpse to bits." I said, putting my hands behind my back.

Naruto tried to break the hold, and I pulled my prosthetic arm out, the blade popping out. It was now at Naruto's neck.

"Now I'll cut your throat, snap your neck, and then walk away. Then the clone will blow up." I said. "Would you kindly just give up?"

Naruto started glowing red, and my clone cracked, then fell apart.

"Stop!" Kakashi shouted when Naruto hit me, sending me flying. I smashed into a tree, breaking it.

"How many times am I going to hit a tree in this chapter?" I asked myself.

'Kyle, Naruto has lost control. He has four tails.' Nibi said.

"How'd I piss him off so quickly?" I asked.

'You acted better than him, your sharingan reminds him of Itachi, and you were threatening his life!' Nibi said.

I face-palmed. "Piss. Give me some power. If you try taking control, though, I'll die before I hurt my friends."

'Understood.' Nibi said, and I began glowing blue, growing one tail. My eyes also became more catlike, and I moved with catlike grace.

"Guys! Get out of here!" I said. "I'll calm Naruto down."

Kakashi tossed something at me, and I caught it expertly.

"This seal will knock him out." Kakashi said. "Hurry."

I nodded. "So, Kyubi. It sucks that I have to meet you."

Naruto growled at me.

"That means screw you." Nibi said out-loud, able to talk when I was using his power.

"Of course." I said. And then, Naruto tackled me.


	72. Chapter 72

I barely dodged Naruto's chakra claws in time, and the band on my ponytail was cut, causing my hair to fall down around my shoulders.

"Too close," I muttered, spinning around. Then I pulled my hair back and took out another band, tying it up like Renji off of Bleach. Then, I opened my mouth, and Nibi did what I wanted. "Two-tailed monster cat flame jutsu!" Blue fire shot from my mouth, burning several trees. But Naruto still dodged, losing a sandal to the inferno.

Naruto tried clawing me again, jumping at me, but I grabbed his shoulders and I tossed him away.

"I learned how to toss people away when I had to cover my eyes," I said. "Beating you won't be hard, 'specially with the sharingan."

Then, suddenly, Naruto appeared right in front of me and tossed me in the air. Then, he appeared above me and hit me in the chest with a rasengan, making me smash into the ground, putting a giant half-circle crater into our training field.

"Ow." I said, trying to stand. "Can this get any-!" Suddenly, my middle rib on my right side popped out of my skin, squirting blood.

"Just stay still." Nibi said, like it was possible when four-tailed Naruto was coming for me.

"I can't." I growled. "Go two-tails."

Nibi grudgingly gave me all of his powers, muttering that I wouldn't be able to control it.

Naruto finally jumped down into the crater, and tried clawing my face, but I stopped him, his claws cutting my forehead, my whole body covered in blue chakra. I tossed him into the air and blasted him with fire, then jumped out of the crater.

"Now," I said, two cat-tails behind me. "I think we know how well I work with Nibi."

Naruto lunged at me, and I ducked under him, grabbed his legs, and promptly smashed him against the ground, straddled him, and hit him several times.

Then, I slapped the seal on his head.

"Jackpot." I smiled as Naruto powered down. Then, I walked a few feet away, Nibi's power slowly draining away, and sat in my favorite spot under the tree.

'They are coming to help you.' Nibi said, only in my thoughts. 'You used my full power, so you were continuously injured.'

"Then how's my..." I began to ask how my prosthetic arm was still functioning when it fell apart. "Damn. It took forever to build that. But, I beat four-tailed Naruto. That's worth something, huh?"

Kakashi appeared next to me, or, rather, I blacked out and woke up when he helped me up.

"How are you?" Kakashi asked.

I looked down at what was left of my left arm. "My prosthetic arm's gone."

"Just build another one. At least you were alive. Tell me, why did I sense so much chakra coming from over here?" Kakashi asked.

"I went two-tails, and I could still control it." I said. "Y'see, Naruto divides his power into nine different tails, but I only have two tails, so I'm either at half-power or full-power."

"It works like that?"

"I guess. I didn't exactly take 'Jinchuriki 101,' Kakashi." I said. "Why does my face feel weird?"

"There's dried blood all over the side of your face. Not many other wounds, though." Kakashi said.

"Oh. That's cool." I said. "Am I going to the hospital?"

"Yes."

"But I hate the hospital."

"Stop getting hurt and you won't have to keep going to the hospital."

"But I feel fine!" I chuckled. "The Beatles."

Kakashi looked at me.

"Just wipe the blood off and you'll see I don't have a scratch on me. I just need some rest." I said.

"Can we get some water?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course!" Guy shouted. "But it won't-"

"Yeah, yeah, eternal flame of youth." I said, pouring some water on my hand and wiping the blood off. "See? No scratch, or even a scar."

"Hm." Kakashi said. "You still need a check-up."

I bent over, a giant anime sweat drop on my head. "Piss."


	73. Chapter 73

"You can't break the rules, Al." I said. "Remember what happened to mom?"

Annie walked in, looking a bit sad.

'Mom is probably a tender subject with her.' Nibi said.

"Oh, shut up." I said, rapping on my skull with my knuckles.

"Um...Are you okay?" Annie asked.

"Better than okay. I'm just quoting anime because I'm bored, really." I said.

Annie laughed. "You're nuts."

I shrugged. "Yep. Say, what would you think if I invited Big 'un and Skinny to Konoha?"

Annie looked at me blankly.

"Your family," I said.

"Oh. Wait, I don't have a brother."

"Who was he, then?"

"Well, I think he had a crush on me..."

"!"

"You probably should invite him, though. I haven't seen him in a long time." Annie said. "My dad's name is Akira, my sister's name is Hana, and my friend's name is Kane."

I looked at her, eyebrow raised. "Who would name their kid Kane?"

"The name means money, or something like that." Annie said.

"In one of the orphanages I lived in they taught us that Kane killed his brother with a rock."

"I've never heard that story."

"I have. Avenged Sevenfold and all that."

Annie smiled, and sat beside me on the bed, on my right side. This time, however, she had to, because I didn't have a mechanical arm made yet. Annie put her head against my neck, and I noticed that she smelled like flowers.

"I worried about you." Annie said.

"I didn't worry about me." I said. "Don't worry about me, either. I always make it out alive."

"But you can't make it out forever."

"I think I can. But if I don't, I know what I want on my tombstone."

"What?" Annie asked.

"Either 'Knew I should've retired' or 'Kyle Meiki-Uchiha was a good man. He saved orphans like himself several times.'" I smiled.

"But you've never saved any orphans." Annie said.

"They don't know that!" I protested.

"Who's they?"

"That's simple, they're...OMG, you're family is at the door!"

"OMG...?" Annie asked, confused, then looked at the door. Indeed, the giant, bald man was standing there with a little lavender-haired girl and a skinny teenage boy with blue hair.

I threw my sheets off, revealing that I was fully-clothed in jeans, a black shirt, and sandals, then I stood up.

"Ta-da!" I smiled. "Hey Big 'un, hey Skinny...Err, Mr. Akira, Kane, and Hana."

"You got one arm." Hana noted, pointing at my left arm.

My face dropped, and I sat against the wall, an aura of gloom around me.

A giant anime sweat drop was on Annie's head. "He's sensitive about the arm."

"Why are his eyes mismatched? Oh! Is he sensitive about that too?" Akira asked.

"I'm okay about the eyes." I said, standing up. "You guys can catch up. I gotta get a prosthetic arm."

"Thanks for bringing us here." Akira smiled.

I held up a peace sign, smiling. "No problem, Mr. Akira."

As I left the room, I heard Akira and Kane note at how much I changed, then Annie explain all of the changes.

'Is is truly wise to leave Annie in a room with a boy who had a crush on her?' Nibi asked.

"I trust her." I said. "More than myself, even." I turned a corner, and nearly bumped into Kankuro, Temari, and Haku.

"Watch it!" Kankuro said before noticing it was me.

"Wow. You're rude." I frowned. "And I thought we had a brotherly-love thing going on, not an orphanage-bully thing."

"Sorry about Kankuro." Temari smiled, putting me in a headlock and giving me a noogie.

"Ah! Help!" I said, trying to get her off with one arm. Even if I had two arms, I couldn't have gotten her off. "She's attacking me!"

Temari let me go, playfully punching my right arm. "You should visit more often."

"I was in a coma. I couldn't move." I said.

"Hey Kyle." Haku smiled. She was wearing very un-ninja-like armor. By that I mean she wore a dress, sandals, and pink lipstick, and there was no headband to be found on her. "What are you looking at?"


	74. Chapter 74

"At you! You've changed so much!" I walked forward for a hug when, suddenly, Temari kicked me, causing me to slide across the floor and smash into a wall. Then she ran after me.

"Sorry!" Temari said. "I did it on instinct!"

"You kicked me in the face! What damn instinct is that!" I asked, popping my nose back into place, then healing it.

"Well, Haku's...err..." Temari whispered in my ear. "Pregnant."

"Congratulations!" I smiled, taking a step forward. Suddenly, Kakuro's puppet grabbed me and tossed me in the air, then kicked me mid-air, like a soccer ball. I smashed against the wall on the opposite side of the hospital, and I shouted "Y'know, I'm getting a bit pissed off!"

"Sorry." Kankuro said, not really meaning it.

"Screw you, screw your puppets, screw your theme song- Master of Puppets by Metallica -, screw your facepaint, screw your fake sorry, screw that weird sign on your chest, screw your violence against children, screw your pajama-looking clothes, and screw your abilities to hurt me. I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"Are you crying?"

"No." I sniffed. "I just inhaled whatever comes out of the wall, and it's screwing with my sinuses. By the way, am I going to die from this stuff?"

"Probably." Kankuro laughed.

I rolled, then stood. "Can you give me a replacement arm now?"

Kankuro handed me a black box, and said "It's exactly how your last one was, but better-made, since I know how to make it and not just duct tape it together."

"I didn't use duct tape! It was glue." I said.

The others laughed.

"Why does it go all the way to my shoulder?" I asked.

"This one uses less chakra to move, but that machine took up a lot of space, so the machine that lets you connect your nerves to the prosthetic arm with chakra had to be moved up to your shoulder." Kankuro said.

"Right. Now I really look like the Fullmetal Alchemist." I said, putting the prosthetic arm on my stub. Immediately, it began hurting, but you wouldn't have been able to tell, since I didn't make any sounds of pain anymore. Then, the pain subsided and I flexed my fingers. "You've outdone yourself, Kankuro. You should start selling these." I smiled, looking at the others. Then I noticed something out of the ordinary with Haku.

"Y'know, brown and blue eyes isn't as catchy as black and blue eyes. But you guys don't know who The Fratellis are, so I'll skip the witty references and take a guess: Gaara took your eye when I was out, and you took one of his. This was probably so he could have the sharingan, but it was also partially your decision." I said.

Everyone's jaw dropped.

"It was actually all my decision." Haku said, and I also noticed her hands were on her stomach. This put the dress closer to her stomach, which was slightly larger.

"Can't wait to see Gaara." I smiled. "I wonder how he looks with an eye-patch. That, and I need to show him this."

I took some sand out of the nooks and crannies of Kankuro's puppet, showing it to the others.

"It was freakin' hard learning how to do that." I smiled. A nurse suddenly walked up to me, putting a hand on my arm.

"You're Mr. Uchiha-Meiki, correct?" The nurse asked. She had blue eyes and long, wavy hair. "My name is Fuka."

"Call me Kyle." I smiled kindly.

"Follow me." Fuka said.

"Alright." I said, a bit confused. "See you guys in a bit. How about we get some ramen, or something? Annie's gonna be busy with her family here, and I'll have some free time."

"Sure, Kyle." Temari smiled, like the big sister I thought of her as.

"I've been wanting some ramen for a while." Haku smiled. "Nobody makes it like they do here."

"I'm sure, somewhere in Konoha, Naruto agrees." I laughed, following Fuka.

"So, what kind of chakra do you have?" Fuka asked.

Kyle thought about it. "I dunno what you mean."

"Fire, water, wind. Elements."

"There's chakra elements? I've just been using whatever I learned."

"This should be interesting." Fuka said, walking into a room. When Kyle entered the room she closed the door behind him. "Do you want a soft kiss or a French kiss?"

"!"


	75. Chapter 75

"I'm not so sure I want to be in a room with you." I said when, suddenly, all the lights went out.

I swear I heard Fuka purr.

'Kyle, get out of the room now!' Nibi said, ever the calming voice in my ear.

'No, I was going to get molested by this crazy nurse.' I thought. Suddenly, I felt her grab me and French kiss me from the front, and I kicked her off.

"I got a girlfriend!" I said, and she jumped back onto me. "Get offa me! I don't have any money to give you, you freakin' hoe!"

**A/N: Point of view change, readers (don't worry: it'll be temporary.) Anyways, now you get to see through the eyes of Aneko! -MN1**

I walked down the hallway, the song 'Blood' by My Chemical Romance in my head. Or, rather, that's what Kyle called it. He kept singing it as he was dragged off to the hospital. People asked how I dated him a lot, and how I could bear his insane personality. Personally, I thought it was cute.

"So, he's your boyfriend?" Kane asked, not sounding very approving.

"Yeah." I said.

"He seems a bit...unstable." Dad said.

I shrugged. "He was stable enough to not kill us when we attacked him."

"To save me!" Hana trilled.

"Yeah," I smiled. "To save you."

We walked down a hallway, but stopped when we heard scuffling.

"What's-" Kane began when, suddenly, Kyle kicked a door off its hinges, embedding it in the parallel wall. As soon as the door was gone, he ran through it.

"Get off me, you crazy-!" Kyle was cut off when a woman with red hair used a jutsu, shouting its name as she used it.

"Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!" She shouted.

"Man, that sounds badass-" Kyle flew through the air as the jutsu hit him, smashing him into the wall. Then, Kyle fell on the ground, the hospital evacuating.

"That was good," Kyle said, wiping blood off of his lips. "Lemme give it a shot."

"What?" The woman asked, then saw the red-and-black swirl mangekyo sharingan Kyle had.

"Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Slaughter!" Kyle shouted, and blasted the woman, causing her to shake violently while splitting out blood. "That, Fuka, is called 'getting one upped.'"

"Kyle, what's going on?" I asked.

Kyle looked at me, patting the fire out of his shirt, then taking a water bottle and pouring the contents over his arm so the hot metal would cool down.

"See, that chick was all like 'gimme a kiss!' and I was like 'no!', so she tried killing me. But I won." Kyle smiled, then said "Yes, kicking the door open was necessary. Whaddya mean she's getting up?"

Fuka grabbed for my ankle, and I jumped back. I looked at my family. "Get out of here. Kyle and I will handle this."

**A/N: Back to Kyle's POV. -MN1**

"Sweet." I said when, suddenly, Fuka shot up and grabbed Annie, then used a jutsu.

"Lightning Release: Flying Thunder God!" Fuka said, holding her hand up. Lightning coursed through her, and I swear time slowed down as I rushed forward, grabbing her with my robotic arm.

I used a jutsu I made just in case I ever fought someone like this, lightning absorption, and the lightning went into my robotic arm. The rubber inside the arm kept it from killing me, but I still got a sizable jolt, and Fuka smiled when I grunted in pain. Then, she pushed Annie away and tried kissing me again. I grabbed the sides of her head, though, and pushed her away just enough so that I could make the blade pop out of my arm.

"Get any closer," I said. "And I'll cut that face up."

Fuka looked directly into my eyes, and I felt as if I wasn't able to move.

"WTF?" I asked.

"That, my dear," Fuka smiled. "Is the Temporary Paralysis Technique."

"Pisspisspisspiss!" I shouted, trying to move away from Fuka. Suddenly, however, when Fuka was inches away from my face, she flew back by a kick to the face.

Annie cracked her knuckles, glaring at Fuka.

"You're dead." Annie said, while I stood and ran to the side of the room, getting behind a desk. Of course, I poked my head over the top to watch the fight.


	76. Chapter 76

Annie activated the sound wave-magnifying jutsu, then ran at Fuka, attempting to kick her in the face. Fuka, however, dodged the kick, grabbed Annie's ankle, and twisted. I heard a crack, and winced as Annie fell on the ground. Immediately, Fuka kissed Annie.

'She is absorbing Aneko's chakra! Do not just stand here and drool! Unlike you, Aneko does not have a giant chakra-creating beast in her.' Nibi said.

I cursed, then jumped over the table.

"Yo." I said. "You wanna fight somebody, fight me."

Fuka stood, and licked her lips. "Your girlfriend tastes good."

"Hey, Nibi?" I smiled crookedly.

'You are still aware no one else but you can hear me?'

"I wonder how our one-tailed form would taste."

'One-tail, coming up.'

When I was covered with blue chakra, my eyes cat-like, Fuka looked a bit intimidated.

'I don't think she read your file.' Nibi noted.

"Too bad for her." I said, and lunged at her, cutting four lines into her stomach. "I'm Freddy Krueger!"

"Lightning re-" Fuka was quickly cut off when I burned her alive with fire.

"That," I said, "was anti-climactic."

I heard Annie moan and pain, and I changed back to normal as I ran to her side.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Who was that?" Annie asked.

"I have no idea." I said. "My guess is an assassin for the Akatsuki."

"Good guess." Someone said, and latched onto me.

"Zetsu? Wait, only the white half?" I asked.

'He is leeching your chakra!' Nibi said.

"That's no big deal." I said, and focused my chakra on White Zetsu. Suddenly, White Zetsu exploded. "Eww."

I healed Annie's ankle, but she'd still be limping for a while. I picked her up and was on my merry-way home when Kisame walked in.

"So," Kisame said. "I finally get to see you again."

"Long time no see." I said. "I think we can both agree that, though our partnership was a well-working one, we should move on with our lives."

Kisame chuckled. "You're not going to have a life when I'm done with you."

I looked at Annie.

"I'm not leaving you here alone." Annie said.

I made a shadow clone. "Get her out of here." I told my clone.

My clone nodded, taking a protesting Annie with him.

"That was noble of you." Kisame said.

"You know me." I said.

"I thought I did." Kisame disagreed.

I moved my hands quickly and spat fire at Kisame, but he used a water jutsu that slammed me against the wall, immediately bruising my back and causing me to swallow a large amount of water.

I fell on my hands and knees, coughing water up.

"I've trained for this." Kisame said. "You're the enemy, a jinchuriki. I can go all-out now."

"If you want some, come get some." I said.

Kisame charged at me, throwing the bandages off of his sword. I ducked under it, and said "That is the ugliest sword ever. Of all time."

'That sword absorbs chakra.' Nibi said.

"Thank you, encyclopedia-tailed beast." I said sarcastically. "That thing could create skittles and shout 'taste the rainbow!' all day and I _still_ wouldn't get near it."

"Are you talking to your tailed beast?" Kisame asked. "I've never heard of a junchiriki doing that before."

"I care so much it's surprising." I said. "Are we going to fight or talk about Nibi all day?"

Kisame charged at me, freaky sword raised above his head.

"We're going to fight, then?"


	77. Chapter 77

Kisame swung the giant sword, but I dropkicked him, then released the chakra gathered in my feet to propel us. Kisame flew parallel to me while I hit a wall, then used chakra strings so that I didn't fall to the floor.

"Kyle-man, Kyle-man," I sang, crawling up to the ceiling. "Kickin' ass like Kyle-man does!" I shouted, dropping to the floor. As soon as I hit the ground I released the chakra in my feet again, and the floor cracked, parts of it flying up. "Man, my shoes are destroyed." I said, kicking what was left of my sandals off of my feet.

Suddenly, Kisame lunged under me, and I dodged by bending backwards. I was about to say something about The Matrix when, mid-flight, Kisame grabbed me and I flew with him. Kisame moved in mid-air so that, when we impacted with the wall, I was the one lodged into the stone.

"Give me that tailed-beast!" Kisame said, and shoved a hand in my stomach.

I coughed blood, and heard a rapidly-fading voice 'Kyle! He's taking me!'

"Not so fast." I said, and grabbed Kisame's arm. "Thank Deidara for this idea. You'll be seeing him right by the fire."

"Huh?" Kisame asked right before I snapped his arm off, then kicked him away. I fell to the floor, hearing the shark-man's screams, and I pulled the arm out of my stomach, gritting my teeth.

'Just like pulling a tooth.' I thought, having pulled a rotten tooth out of my head once. Of course, it was a baby tooth, but it still hurt. Then, once the arm was out of my stomach, I stood and went two-tailed.

"How's that feel? Not good, eh?" I asked Kisame, feeling my stomach heal. "Yeah. I had my arm cut off by my best female friend in the world, Annie notwithstanding."

"So what?" Kisame asked.

I glared, then smiled again. "So What, I'm A Rock Star," I sang, then l shot forward and grabbed Kisame around the neck. "Tell Deidara I said hi."

Then, I squeezed.

**A/N: Damn, this is dark. I blame that on how I wrote 'After The Reapers.' On a side note, that song is 'So What' by P!nk. Or Pink. Or however you want it stylized. Onto Aneko's point of view! -MN1**

After several minutes of deafening crashes, Kyle limped out of the destroyed hospital. His hand was coated in blood, so I immediately ran to him.

"Oh my god, Kyle!" I said. "Are you okay?"

"It's not my blood." Kyle said, looking out of it. "It's not my blood."

A ninja jogged out of the hospital, smiling. "Dude, you ripped Kisame's head off!" Almost immediately after seeing Kyle, the ninja's face fell. "He doesn't look too happy."

Kyle snapped back to reality, and smiled, though his heart didn't seem in it. "What's up?"

"Kyle, are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. I just killed one of my friends, y'know. Not like I killed one of my friends or anything." Kyle said, and jumped up, looking over his new arm. "Man, this thing held up well. Gotta give Kankurou credit, even though he's dating Saika."

An ANBU walked forward, Kisame's giant sword on his back. Kyle walked by him, grabbing the sword. The ANBU turned around angrily, and Kyle stuck his tongue out, pulling his eyelid down.

"Mine." Kyle said simply. "Spoils go to me."

"Don't you mean the victor?" The ANBU asked.

"Nah. I mean Kyle Uchiha-Meiki, no matter if I win or lose." Kyle said, then looked at the sword. "You're mine now, dude."

Spikes shot from the handle, impaling Kyle's hand. Kyle gritted his teeth, but didn't let go.

"I have a bit more will than that." Kyle said. "I beat your master, I'm your new master. That's how it is."

"Um, Kyle." I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. I was going to tell him that he should leave the sword to the ANBU when the sword made a sound, as if accepting what Kyle had said. The spikes retracted, and Kyle put the bandaged sword on his hand.

"I'm going to send a letter to Chojuro. It'll surprise him I got this sword...I think." Kyle giggled, then looked at me. I immediately focused on his brown eyes, then mentally scolded myself.

"Wanna go on a date?" Kyle smiled. "I need to put the giant, not very mobile sword up though. Hey, where'd that ANBU guy go?"

In the wreckage of the hospital, unbeknownst to us, Madara took the ring from Kisame's corpse and left, grinding his teeth in anger.


	78. Chapter 78

I walked outside of my house, looking terrible. I hadn't been sleeping very well, which worried not only my family (Sasuke) but my friends (I count Nibi as a friend.)

'It's not healthy.' Nibi said.

"I know, but I can't help it." I said. "I keep seeing that seen in my head, feeling Kisame's last pulse under my fingers."

'You've killed before.'

"But never one of my friends, and never where I could feel the life draining out of a person." I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "Maybe it's just because I woke up from a coma. I don't know what to do, though."

'Maybe you need therapy. I'm sure Mrs. Hatake or Lady Tsunade would gladly help you out.' Nibi said. 'The physical trauma was healed by me, but I can't fix the mental trauma.'

"That would've been good to know earlier." I said. "I gotta go to this date, though. I have to see Annie alone."

'I understand. Don't mind me. If you'd open up your memories I would gladly read one of the books you read for me.'

"There." I said. Itachi had taught me how to keep the barrier between the tailed-beast and myself up 24/7, but I trusted Nibi enough to let him in my head, if only for a little.

'Thank you, Kyle. My old masters were never so kind. Anyways, would you see one of the fine medical-nin in Konoha? Just once?'

"Okay, mom." I said, then frowned. "Is that what a mom acts like?"

'I am a being made of chakra, Kyle. The only thing I know about mothers is from ill-gotten knowledge.'

"Huh?"

'In the final moments of my masters lives I tend to take their memories. I was a few moments from taking yours during the final minutes of your coma, when things escalated, actually.' Nibi admitted.

"You devious-!" I began when I noticed several people looking at me, one of them Annie. "Um...There's a good reason I'm talking aloud."

"Uh-huh." The crowd said.

"...Bail no jutsu!" I said, and disappeared. I reappeared behind the crowd, and grabbed Annie's hand, then slung her over my shoulder and carried her off.

"Ah!" She squealed, though laughed right after. "How'd you get big enough to carry me?"

I smiled deviously. "Wouldn't you like to know?" In truth, Nibi was giving off more nutrients than any vitamin you could think of, so I had stronger bones, muscles, and I was growing more than I'd ever have normally.

"I would, actually. There are rumors going around you're on steroids." Annie said, then ordered me to drop it.

"That was hot." I muttered.

"What?" Annie asked.

"Err...Nothing!" I said. "So, whaddya wanna do?"

"You don't know what we're going to do?" Annie asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know how dates work. I figured you'd choose where we went."

'Kyle, you must take charge. You may not think of yourself as a leader, but others have and still do.'

'Huh?' I thought.

'You have a gift for leading. Knowing little about the team you are with, you still manage to make it work. If only you took yourself more seriously.'

I punched myself on the side of the head. 'This isn't the time for a lecture!'

"Kyle, are you okay? Why'd you do that?" Annie asked.

"It's just a punch to the head." I shrugged. "It's not that bad."

"You cut your head open! That was your metal arm!" Annie said.

"Oh." I said, looking at the arm. There was a small bit of cut metal that as slightly sharper than the rest. I used some chakra to fix it, and smiled. "All better!"

Annie sighed. "I'll fix your head. Be thinking about what you want to do."

'This date has certainly gone downhill. By the way, I'll fix your head. Aneko shouldn't worry about it.'

"Shut up, Nibi." I said, adding 'Nibi' on at the last second to make sure I didn't look like I was being mean to Annie. "How about we go to Uchiha Senbei? I mean, it's really popular, but that's not 'cause the food. Sasuke's still got a lot of fangirls."

Annie smiled. "I'm surprised you heard about Sasuke opening that back up. They moved right beside the ramen shop, right?"

I nodded. "Sasuke actually gets more money than this lowly ninja."

"But you still have money?"

"Yeah. Sasuke's the only one that actually knows how much money I have, since he dipped into my cash to fund the shop. I don't know if he paid me back or not, though."

"Why?"

"I don't know how much money I have." I blushed, scratching the back of my head.

"You don't?" Annie asked,

"Nope." I said. "Can't count very well. How's Big 'un and Skinny...err, Akira and Kane?"

"Good." Annie said.

'Body stance indicates she's holding something back. I believe Kane is 'making moves' on her, so to speak.'

My eye twitched, but I smiled at Annie to hide that. 'Nibi, shut up or I'll paint my walls with your blood!'

'My blood is your blood.'

'Maybe I'll still do it!' I bluffed.

'Oh my...I will be quiet.' Nibi said.

'Thank you.'


	79. Chapter 79

I coughed, tea going back into my cup.

"Kyle, are you okay?" Annie asked.

"I'm fine. Can I just have water?" I asked, not liking the tea much. To my shock, Annie drank the tea and smiled.

"It's good tea. And the senbei is fantastic." Annie smiled.

I looked down at the senbei. "I thought senbei would be, like, steak or something. Well, it won't kill me. I mean, it might, but I don't die that easy." I said, and popped one of the crackers in my mouth. I wouldn't have done that, mind you, if I knew Annie loved spicy foods and had put wasabi on it. As luck had it, too much wasabi was put on it, and Annie was going to scrape some off to avoid death by spice.

Lucky me, eh?

I chewed and swallowed it before the taste hit me. When the taste hit me, I felt pure energy run through my whole body, and I fell back, coughing.

'I fight who-knows how many people, and I'm killed by food. I want my grave to read "who says I was lucky?" Well, that or "screw wasabi."' I thought as Annie laughed and Sasuke looked at me.

"Idiot." Sasuke muttered. Sakura saw me, giving tea to Hinata, who had stopped by, and began laughing.

'I wonder if this can get any worse.' I thought, then 'Can I get Annie a purple kimono? That pink one on Sakura is really cute...'

After several moments of coughing, Hinata walked over to me.

"Are you okay, Kyle?" Hinata asked.

'I just coughed up a lung! No, I am not okay!' I wanted to shout. "Nah." I said, then smiled. "Man, my voice is cool!" My voice was deeper, and much more epic.

'That is my fault, actually. You damaged your vocal chords since you coughed for three minutes, barely breathing and not drinking water. This is what you would've sounded like normally at twenty or so.'

'I kinda sound like Ron Perlman.' I smiled.

"You sound odd. I think I miss your old voice." Annie said, then took another sip of tea. I fell backwards, deflating.

"Really?" I asked, then sat up, yawning. I rested my head on the table, and Annie took notice of my appearance.

"What's up with you?" Annie asked. "You need some sleep."

"That's what I've been telling him." Sasuke said, sitting beside me.

I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Where were you seconds ago?"

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"'What do you mean?' Oh, I don't know, there's just blood and wasabi over there, and a lung over here. I was coughing myself into the grave!" I said. "And dear, dear Hinata was the only one to check if I was alright! And I never even said hi after coming out of a coma. Hello, Hinata. What's up?" I asked.

"Quiet down. This is a quiet establishment." Sasuke said.

"My coughs say it isn't." I said.

"How do you like the tea." Sasuke said, ignoring me.

"It's fantastic." Annie smiled, falling for Sasuke's charms. "The senbei is even better."

"Thank you," Sasuke nodded, as I walked all over the place, taking ryo and juggling them and such antics to get attention. They ignored me though, up until Sasuke whirled around, vein in his head popping out.

"Quiet down!" Sasuke shouted.

I had been tossing ryo into a teacup, feet propped up onto a table.

"You're the loud one. Chill, bro." I shrugged, then started singing, but not as loudly as I would normally. "_Lights are out in the street where I stand/ It sure would be great to have a clock with no hands/ Met a man said he was wise and in tune/ Lazy Sundays turn to Mondays to soon._"

**A/N: The song is 'No Song Unheard' by The Hellacopters. -MN1**

Sasuke's eye twitched, and I fell asleep for a brief moment. Then, I shot up.

Sasuke looked at me worriedly (or his version of worried, anyways.) "Kyle, you need some help."

"Maybe some coffee. Who sleeps, anyways?" I said, throwing on my best 'I'm fine' smile.

"Everyone does." Sakura said.

I put on my best cold look and evil smile, and turned towards Sakura. Noting her shiver, I said "I'm not normal, Sakura. Something isn't right with me. Don't you wonder how I can't die? How I handled a junchiriki?"

"Y-Yeah." Sakura admitted.

"I'm a vampire, Sakura." I said, standing and slowly walking towards her. My steps were cold and calculation, making me seem much like the villain I was pretending to be. When I reached Sakura, I grabbed her arms, looking into her eyes. "And I want to suck your blood!" Suddenly, I felt something hit the side of my head, and I smashed through the wall, a dumb look on my face where a cold one once stood.

"Were you going to kiss her?" Annie shouted, her knuckles red from punching me.

Everyone in the street turned to me, and I heard a few 'that's what he gets for cheating on her!' and 'I think that's Kyle.'

"It's not what it looks like!" I said, then put my palm to my face. "_Never_ say that cliché line! It automatically makes it seem like it was what it looked like. Sasuke, back me up!"

"It did look like you were going after Sakura." Sasuke admitted, then stood up to begin working again.

"Nibi, what about you?" I asked.

'I'm in your head. But you did look like you were going after Sakura.' Nibi chuckled. The world went black right after a brick from the building fell down, knocking me out.


	80. Chapter 80

I sat in the chair, nervously going over my prosthetic arm as Shizune looked me over.

"So, how are you doing?" Shizune asked.

"Um...Fine." I said, popping the blade out of my arm, then putting it up hurriedly after realizing that it would look threatening.

"Don't be very nervous, Kyle." Shizune said. "I'm here to help."

I was forced into therapy by Annie, though some part of me (not just Nibi) wanted to get help.

"If you say so." I said, the part that didn't want help coming to the surface.

"What's wrong, Kyle?" Shizune asked.

"I don't sleep very well, I'm an amputee, I got kicked out of the life-insurance office, I have a junchiriki...Y'know, ninety-nine problems. A bitch is one, actually." I said.

"You're saying you have a problem with Aneko?" Shizune asked.

I shrugged. "I think I do. Don't know about her. She did hit me through a wall on our date, though."

"I heard about that."

"Figured you would. Everyone does, and everyone thinks I'm unfaithful now. Anyways, I'm surprised she was able to hit me through a wall with just her blunt strength."

"She learned how to release chakra like you and Sakura do." Shizune said.

"Oh. That's becoming a common skill, isn't it?" I chuckled nervously.

"What's wrong with your relationship?" Shizune asked.

"I don't think we're connecting. I mean, there's plenty of love, but things tend to go wrong around me and her."

"So, you two are intimate?"

"..." I blushed, looking at Shizune, shocked. "I don't think I'm legal."

"But Aneko is. And illegal things tend to happen between teens." Shizune said.

Man, running out of that door seemed to be a really welcoming idea.

"No, we are not 'intimate.' I just got out of a coma." I said.

"Have you had sexual relationships?"

"Why are you so fixated on sex?"

"Let's move on."

"Yeah, before it gets uncomfortable. Oh wait, that was a little while ago."

Shizune wrote something down. "So, what problem do you want to tackle next?"

"Wait, you didn't help me out with that problem." I said.

"You have to work on the problems yourself. I can't do it for you." Shizune said.

"That seems like an excuse. I mean, I could tell one of my enemies 'I can't kill you, you gotta do it yourself.' Then he'd kill me and go on living." I said.

"I noticed you went right to killing and death, Kyle."

"Are you saying I'm Gothic or something?"

"No. Kyle, what do you think happens when you die?"

"Your heart stops, people get sad, then you get buried. Or turned to ash." I said.

"I mean in the afterlife." Shizune said.

"Sex and the afterlife. Wow, this is the oddest conversation I've had recently. And I talk to myself." I said. "Well, I'd like to think good guys go to a good place and bad guys to a bad place, but I don't know what makes a bad person bad. I mean, I used to think killing made people bad, but I kill. So am I bad? But I kill to save others. Or does that matter? And, if so, who judges what's good and what's bad? Another thing I wonder is if Keira was good or bad. Maybe she was with the Akatsuki and turned bad slowly, or was bad since birth."

"Keira? You mean your mother?" Shizune said.

"Yeah. I think about Keira a lot. I wonder why she blinded me. Or, rather, why she messed up my old eyes. I wonder what the present she wanted to give me was. I wonder if there's a rift between Annie and I because of her, or if Annie and I just weren't meant to be."

"That's pretty deep considering many people think you're insane."

"Tell me about it."

"So, why don't you get sleep?" Shizune asked after scribbling something down.

"I killed Kisame, one of my friends from the Akatsuki. I mean, killing isn't that bad. But I never killed one of my friends before, and never when I could feel his pulse. I mean, I literally _felt him die!_ Whenever I lay down, trying to sleep, I feel his pulse, then my hand breaking through his neck. I ripped his head off, man!" I said.

"You consider the Akatsuki your friends?" Shizune asked.

"Yeah. Call me a traitor, call me insane, I formed some bonds with them, even if they think I'm a traitor now." I said.

Shizune nodded. "Our time is up."

"'Course it is." I stood. "Lemme guess: Tsunade gets to read this."

"If you want her to." Shizune said.

"Let them see it." I said.

"Who's them?" Shizune asked.

"The world."

**A/N: Yes, therapy is like that (I went to therapy for a while.)**

**-MN1**


	81. Chapter 81

**A/N: This little bit is from Shizune's perspective. -MN1**

"Stubborn, inconsistent, and possibly insane. Might have post-traumatic stress disorder." Tsunade read.

I nodded. "He feels terrible because he killed Kisame."

"Don't get discouraged." Tsunade said. "I'm sure that if we can get Kyle to act normal, or, at least, back to his version of normal, we'll stand a much better chance against whatever the world can throw at us."

"Yes ma'am." I nodded.

**A/N: Back to Kyle's perspective. -MN1**

I sat in the waiting room, nervously tapping my foot. To my surprise, Shizune had actually made a very popular medical practice in Konoha.

'Man, Sasuke sucks at recent-events.' I thought.

Annie touched my foot, stopping it and smiling lightly.

"Why are you so nervous?" Annie asked.

I took her hand lightly, smiling back at her. "I dunno. Do you think our relationship is good?"

"Yeah, even if you suck at dates." Annie admitted, and about eighty pounds of stress was lifted off of my back.

"Kyle Uchiha-Meiki?" One of Shizune's helpers asked, popping her head out of the door.

"I really need to just go by Uchiha or Meiki." I said, then stood. "Be out in, like, an hour."

Annie smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry so much. It's not like you."

I shrugged. "I figured foot-tapping was better than singing aloud."

"It is." One of the patients said.

I held back a 'Who asked you!', following the nurse. Err, helper. They stressed that Shizune's therapy wasn't a hospital. I was actually lucky to get Shizune; she was almost completely booked. I wondered if Tsunade 'requested' a spot for me as I sat down across from Shizune.

"So, Kyle." Shizune said. "Getting better sleep?"

"Yeah." I admitted.

"You look better. Tell me, why do you wear your hair so long?"

"The reason used to be so people didn't say 'you look like Sasuke.' Now I just like having a lot of hair."

"You compare yourself to Sasuke?"

"No, others did. Only in looks, though."

"Hm. How's the relationship with Aneko now?"

"Good," I said. "She doesn't mind that I royally suck at dates. She's actually the second person to want me to get therapy."

"Who was the first?" Shizune asked.

"Nibi."

"The tailed-beast?" I noticed Shizune's motherly smile falter; a common occurrence when the tailed-beast was brought up.

"Yeah. He talks to me. Really proper, too."

"Proper?"

"Yeah. Y'know, 'cannot' instead of 'can't.' He's helped me a lot."

'Thank you, Kyle.' Nibi said.

'No problem.' I thought.

"Is the Nibi a male or a female?" Shizune asked. "I noticed you said 'he.'"

"Well, the voice is like...It's hard to describe. It's not male or female, really. I just think of Nibi as a guy, I guess."

"Why?"

"Because a girl inside of me would be awkward."

"How often does Nibi talk to you?"

"Frequently. I talk to him, too." I said, then frowned. "I'm coming off as a lunatic."

'A little, perhaps.' Nibi said.

"He just agreed with me." I noted.

"Hm." Shizune said. "Why do you sing songs nobody else knows about?"

"I don't know. I started doing all of this crazy stuff after one of the orphanages I stayed in was burned down, though." I said.

"Really? What orphanage was it?"

"The first one I was in, I think. I ran off when the children were getting together with the adults outside. I came back as ANBU and got revenge, though."

"Kyle, do you miss your mother?"

"I don't have a mother."

"Do you miss Keira?" Shizune asked.

"I don't know." I said. "Do I miss the fact each time we met she attempted to kill me? No. But I wonder what it would be like to have Keira acting like a true mother." I said. "In my coma, she was like a mom, but I lost all of the fake memories I had there when I woke up."

"You did?" Shizune asked.

"Yeah." I said, then sighed. "You wrote down I have mommy issues, didn't you?"

Shizune face said 'Yeah.'


	82. Chapter 82

I walked out of my room, into the opaque darkness of Konoha.

'What is wrong, Kyle?' Nibi asked, and I was grateful for his presence.

"I dunno." I said, sitting on the railing on the roof. "I just have a feeling something bad is going to ha-"

An explosion in the middle of the roof cut me off. The figure in the middle of the crater looked at me, and I knew that this something was bad. He had spiky orange hair, orange eyes, and his arm was looking really nasty.

"So..." I said, looking at his hair. "You're Ichigo?"

"I'm Jugo." The guy said.

"Oh. What's up? Why'd you smash my house up?" I asked.

"Because Madara wants you dead." Jugo said.

I nodded. "So? Scads of people want me dead. Them's the breaks, dude. That, and if you wanted to kill me you coulda left my house a-" I jumped sideways, and a giant sword cut the roof in half where I had been. "You brought friends?"

"Damn, I missed." The guy with the giant sword said.

"Nice sword. Apparently stealing it from Zabuza's grave wasn't a problem for you." I growled. I don't like grave robbers, especially someone who died to help my birth-village out.

"Nope," The guy said. "I'm Suigetsu. And I want Samehada."

I took a scroll out, then opened it. My sword flew out, and I caught it in mid-air. "What the hell's a Samehada?"

Jugo and Suigetsu fell over, surprised.

"Your damn sword!" Suigetsu shouted, standing up.

"My sword has a name? Huh." I shrugged.

"You got really strong chakra." A girl said, coming out of nowhere. Her hair was really bright and I figured looking at it in the sunlight might make you lose some of your eyesight.

"Uh...Good?" I said, a bit confused how to reply. "And you are?"

"Karin." The girl smiled.

"Now's not the time to get flirty!" Suigetsu said, and Karin hit him over the head.

"Shut it!" Karin said.

I shivered. "Why didn't I put a freakin' shirt on?" I asked, looking down at my black pajamas with red Konoha signs, then at my scarred, shirtless chest. I would've rubbed my hands together, but my prosthetic arm's metal was cold, and it would've done the opposite of helped.

"I don't mind," Karin said, looking me over.

"Uh...Good to know." I said.

'Aneko's going to be jealous.' Nibi said dryly.

'Shuddup.' I thought, then got cold. I smiled villainously, let the emotion drain from my face, and looked every single one of whatever band of freaks these guys belonged to.

"Who's first?" I asked. Suigetsu jumped forward, but I blocked his sword, spun around, and kicked him in the jaw, sending him flying against the railing. Due to the heavy damage to my house's roof, the place the railing was set in was too weak to support him, and Suigetsu broke through it, falling to the street below. Or would've, had he not shoved his sword into the side of my house.

'That worked out better than I'd hoped.' I thought.

Jugo ran forward as I watched this display, and hit me. I flew forward, screaming in pain. I slammed against the railing, and looked at him.

"Dude! We've had eighty-two chapters and that's the first time somebody interrupted me watching a guy get beat up!" I said as Jugo ran at me. I took a smoke-bomb out of my arm and tossed it down, and then-

**A/N: Karin's perspective! -MN1**

I tried to see through the smoke, but I couldn't. I heard Jugo shout, then, when the smoke faded, I saw Kyle hugging Jugo to his chest. His eyes were blank, and I couldn't put my finger on what was happening.

This mission had gone downhill quickly. Not only was Kyle much stronger than we'd been led to believe he was, he was also much cuter! His chakra was very strong, but also really warm and inviting. Maybe if I convinced him I regretted my actions he'd take me in, like he did other missing-nin, and then I could slowly seduce him and-

"Karin!" Suigetsu said, finally getting back to us. "What's going on!"

"We're losing." I said, when a robot arm circled Suigetsu's neck, and a human one tossed his sword away.

"Check and mate." Kyle said, blade popping out of his robot arm. His normal arm wrapped around Suigetsu's head, putting him in a headlock. "Weird. I suck at chess. Hey, Karin, you gonna surrender?"

"I regret all of my actions!" I said, bowing to Kyle.

"Traitorous bitch!" Suigetsu shouted.

"What about Jugo?" Karin asked.

"That clone is made out of explosives!" Kyle shouted to Jugo. "If you keep moving I'll blow you to bits!"

Jugo grudgingly sat down, only for the clone to choke him. Jugo tried hitting the clone, but his hands went through it. A few moments later, Jugo passed out from lack of air.

"What's this smell like?" Kyle asked, putting a square of cloth up to Suigetsu's mouth. Suigetsu quickly passed out, but fought Kyle until he did. "Correct answer was chloroform."

"W-What are you going to do to me?" I asked, playing the role of the scared girl.

Kyle shrugged. "If you attack me, I'll knock you out. If you're going to be friendly, buy you some ramen and make you a Konoha ninja."

"That's odd." I pointed out.

"It's how I roll." Kyle said, then opened the roof door (which fell over as soon as he let go of the handle.) Team Kakashi ran in, with Kakashi walking in last.

"You beat them all yourself?" Sakura asked.

"Yep." Kyle shrugged, then shivered a bit. "Where were you, Sasuke?"

"Getting the team." Sasuke answered.

"What else did you do? Buy some ramen? Get married? Write a freakin' novel?" Kyle asked, then hugged his brother. "Just kiddin'."

I passed out at the sight.

**A/N: Back to Kyle's perspective. -MN1**

Sasuke pushed me off. "Why'd you do that?"

"Elementary, my dear brother." I said. "Two attractive teen boys hugging specializes in getting fangirls to pass out."

"Really?" Naruto asked.

"Nah. I'm just freakin' cold and need something to warm me up." I said.

"I'm standing right here." Annie said.

"Oh. Right." I said, and hugged my girlfriend. "Guess what, Kakashi?"

"What?" Kakashi asked.

"I gotta help Karin now. She's regretful of her actions." I said.

"Someone's going to use that against you some day." Kakashi said.

"Them's the breaks." I shrugged.

"What does that even mean?" Sakura asked.

"It's my way of saying that's how the cookie crumbles." I said.


	83. Chapter 83

I walked down the street, Karin following me with a Konoha headband on. I'd walked into Tsunade's office and she just handed me a paper giving me guardianship over Karin, knowing that I was going to say I wanted her to become a ninja.

"So, Karin." I said, hands in my pockets. I was wearing my ninja clothes; a black shirt, black baggy pants, sandals, a green vest, and a headband around my neck. Karin wore the same clothes, but her long-sleeve shirt's sleeves went over her hands. When I first saw it, I admit I thought it was cute and wondered if I could get Annie to wear it. "What can you do?"

"You can bite me and suck my chakra out to heal yourself." Karin said.

I looked at her. "...What?"

"Err..." Karin said. "I can use the Mind's Eye of the Kagura."

"I don't know what that means, but it sounds epic." I smiled, and turned to look at the rest of my team. If I hadn't turned, I would've seen Karin swoon. "'Sup ya'll?"

"Nothin' much." Naruto said. "What's up with you?"

"Kickin' ass, having two last names." I said nonchalantly. "Y'know, the normal." I sat in my favorite spot in the whole world, putting my hands behind my head.

"How'd you beat Taka, anyways?" Sakura asked. "We just saw the aftermath."

"I used a lot less jutsu and a lot more gadgets and physical attacks than you guys," I shrugged. "It's how I roll."

"You apparently also like to help out missing-nin." Annie said, looking Karin over. "She's kind of cute."

"I didn't help Karin out 'cause she's cute." I said. "My whole family's been a missing-nin at some time in their life, me included. I want to help others out of that lifestyle."

"You just said Karin was cute." Sakura noted when Kakashi walked out of the forest. He was late, of course, but not as late as he used to be.

"I don't want to think of an excuse." Kakashi said.

"Yeah! Laziness for the win!" I laughed.

"Kyle, what are you doing here? You have to go to therapy." Kakashi said.

"Huh?"

"Tsunade says you can skip today's training to go to therapy."

I shot up, not using my hands to help me up. "Gotta go! Peace!"

_Shizune's practice._

I ran through the door, and Shizune looked at me, leaning up against the wall. "Just in time. I knew you'd be late."

"How?"

"Well, the whole village knows about that fight last night, so I figured you'd forget about your therapy. That, and you had training today."

I followed Shizune, and asked "What're we going to talk about today?"

"That's for you to decide." Shizune said, opening the door for me.

"Thank you." I said, walking in and sitting down in one of the chairs she had. "How 'bout Karin?"

"I don't know much about her, and everything I know about her is from Tsunade's report." Shizune said, sitting across the room, like usual.

"Well, she's got a crush on me, and has some epic-sounding jutsu." I said, then got off-topic. "It's name is pretty odd, too. Then again, mangekyo sharingan is pretty odd, too. I wonder what would happen if I had the Rinnegan. That'd be-"

"Kyle, back to Karin." Shizune said.

"Oh. Right," I said. "She's kinda cute, not that I care. I mean, I do, but I'm not gonna act on it. I think that, like, you can think a girl's cute, even if you're dating someone."

"I understand." Shizune said.

"Cool. Anyways, she's got a pretty cute hairstyle. It's pretty messy on one side, then straight on the other side. I've never seen her forearms, only her hands and face. She wears glasses, and has pink eyes and pink hair."

"How does she act towards you?"

"Kinda flirty, but that might just be her personality. Never can tell."

"From what I've heard you're her guardian."

"Yep." I smiled. "I help out missing-nin whenever I can."

"Why?" Shizune asked.

"Well, y'see, I believe in second-chances. If someone wants a second-chance, I'll give it to them. That, and my whole family has been a missing-nin at one time or another. Sasuke, Itachi, Keira...My dad wasn't, but I don't count him." I shrugged.

"Do you hate your father?" Shizune asked.

"What father?"


	84. Chapter 84

**A/N: Alright, so, the reviewer named 'The Blue Spirit'... You could've really stopped at the third review. I mean, overkill isn't always good. I can't message you, so I'll just respond through an author's note. 1. Kyle's look changes as the story goes on. 2. A Gary-Sue is, apparently, a OC who ruins the fanfiction by being the main character... This story is titled "Naruto: Kyle's Story." Did you think it'd be about another character or something? KYLE'S NAME IS IN THE TITLE! 3. Who said Kyle was the master of sharingan? 4. I play blackjack all the time. Granted, most of these chapters were written over the summer after I stayed up all night, so I might've forgotten a few rules. And lying in a card game isn't honorable, but gambling is generally thought of as dishonorable, so I don't think it really matters. 5. Yes, joy at my fights! 6. Does Sasuke care about anyone? I don't think in chapter five I stated the two loved each other or anything. Kyle loves everybody, though, so he tried helping him out (my memory isn't very good, so I can't remember.) And you could've lost interest a few reviews ago so I didn't have to respond to these reviews. And not swearing would've been nice, but I can't have everything.**

**But, on another note... Achievement unlocked! First troll! (Sorry, I had to.) -MN1**

"_Memories of everything/ of lemon trees on Mercury_," I sang, running through the town. I stopped at Annie's house and knocked. Nobody came to the door, so I looked through the window, and saw Annie kissing Kane.

Well, that's a good day ruined. Instead of getting angry, as I felt the chakra of the one-tailed beast rising already, I began running on the rooftops, singing.

"_Come at me with remedies/ From five or six or seven seas/ You always took me with a smile when I was down/ Memories of everything that blew through._" I sighed, getting depressed. I went to my house and walked in, laying down on the couch. I didn't notice Karin sitting there, and accidentally laid down on her lap. She didn't seem to mind in the slightest; she did, however, blush.

"What's wrong?" Karin asked.

"Annie was making out with some boy from her village." I sighed. "I forgot they were even in town."

"Don't get down, Kyle." Karin smiled.

"But I gotta get a new girlfriend now." I said, my old 'when the going gets tough, I run off to greener pastures' personality coming back.

"I'm here." Karin smiled.

I smiled back. "Alright. I'll give it a shot."

'Kyle, I demand that you go and talk to Annie!' Nibi shouted, nearly imploding my ears.

"But first, I gotta clear it up with Annie. Tomorrow." I said.

"I can wait." Karin said. "Hey, Kyle, I've been thinking: do you think I should get a haircut."

"Nah. I like your hair." I said.

Karin passed out, and I stood up.

"What did I do now?" I asked, then saw what looked like a scar on Karin's slightly pulled-up sleeve. I rolled her sleeve up more and saw scars like that all over her arm. "Damn."

Karin's eyes fluttered open, and she smiled again when she saw me so close to her. When she saw that I had rolled her sleeve up, she jumped up, screaming.

"Ow." I muttered.

"Ah! You looked at my scars!" Karin shouted.

"And?"

"You'll never date me now!"

"Wow, three exclamation marks. I'm going to go deaf." I said, rubbing inside my ear with a pinky. "Karin, you saw my scars when we first met. I mean, hell, I'm missing a whole _arm_. If you think I wouldn't date you 'cause of scars, you're thinking wrong."

Karin smiled, then passed out.

"Aw jeez." I said, standing up.

_C/N: Now you have to wait 'til next chapter to see what's up with Annie and Kane. -Kyle Uchiha-Meiki_

**A/N: Hey, I'm the author! And besides, you were only able to do that when you were in a coma! -MN1**

_C/N: I do _what_ I want, _when_ I want. -Kyle Uchiha-Meiki_

**A/N: No doubt about that. Anyways, you don't have to wait until next chapter, because here's Annie's perspective of what happened. -MN1**

I pushed Kane away, spitting on the floor.

"What the hell was that?" I shouted.

"I thought you liked me." Kane said.

"That was years ago!" I growled.

"You took a break from Konoha and visited." Kane said.

"Yeah, but I never said anything like 'I love you, Kane.'"

"I know, but-"

"But you thought I did. You thought you got it. But thinking you get it isn't the same a getting it, get it? You don't, because you're an idiot!" I shouted, thinking 'I'll have to thank Kakashi for that line later on.'

Kane frowned, and the image of a small, sad puppy went into my head. 'Sorry Kiba' I thought as I kicked Kane in the nose, causing him to smash through the window.

"_Come at me with remedies/ From five or six or seven seas._" I hear Kyle sing (you could hear him several feet away whenever he was really emotional.)

'Did he see...' I wondered, then 'Don't worry about it, girl. Kyle's not that impulsive.'

**A/N: Aaaaand...Kane's perspective, a minute or so after getting kicked through the window. -MN1**

I limped off, a cut on my arm bleeding. "Shit." I chanted, falling against a wall and sliding down, sitting on the ground and nursing my arm

"You hate Kyle, don't you? I can sense it." A man said.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked. My blue hair was in my eyes, and I angrily flicked my head, causing my hair to get out of my eyes, to get a better look at the man standing above me. When I saw his eyes I immediately got pissed: the same eyes that dumbass Kyle had.

_C/N: Hey! -Kyle Uchiha-Meiki_

**A/N: Shh! This is important! -MN1**

"You want to kill Kyle." The man said.

"What the hell do you care?"

"I want to also. My name is Madara."

**A/N: Sorry for all of the cussing in that last bit, but Kane's just that kind of guy.**

**-MN1**


	85. Chapter 85

I stood at the tree, waiting for Annie. I had left a letter for her, asking for her to come to my favorite tree in the training field. I was nervous, so I kept wiping sweat off of my right palm, then messing around with my left arm's functions.

"Hey Kyle," Annie smiled. She wore a purple sleeveless shirt, black pants, ninja sandals, and a headband on her right arm (she was left-handed.) She had pink lip gloss on, and I have to admit, restraining myself from kissing her was really hard. So I didn't hold myself, giving her a long, passionate kiss.

I'm secretly a terrible romantic.

"Wow." Annie smiled, her cheeks bright pink. "What was that for?"

"I really, really, really don't want you to break up with me and start dating Kane. Honestly, he's kind of a jerk, and he cusses way too much," I said.

"Oh. You saw that." Annie said, the blush on her cheeks fading a bit. "I didn't want to kiss him. And besides, you missed the part when I kicked him out of the window. Didn't you notice the construction workers putting a new window in my house?"

I thought about it. "I didn't." I admitted.

Annie laughed, hugging me tightly. "I wouldn't cheat on you. I love you."

"You too." I smiled.

"I think I..." Annie trailed off.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." Annie said. "Sorry for freaking you out."

"S'all good." I smiled.

**A/N: It's Aneko's point of view. -MN1**

How was I going to tell Kyle that I loved him? I don't mean teen love, I mean adult 'I-wanna-be-with-you-forever- love. Maybe a more serious side to him somewhere deep down. Or maybe he didn't. I vowed to myself next time we went on a date I'd tell him how much I loved him.

**A/N: Back to Kyle's point of view. -MN1**

I got the nervous feeling I was A. Being betrayed, B. Someone wanted to tell me something important and/or embarrassing, or C. My arm was failing me. I looked at the metal, flexing my fingers.

'Well, that ain't it.' I thought, then shrugged. "Maybe I'll be fine." I said aloud. As soon as I said that, the ground right in front of me exploded, sending me sailing.

Kane lifted his hand up, electricity crackling around his arm. "Aw, I missed." Kane wore Akatsuki clothes, with his headband around his neck, a deep scratch across the sound village sign.

"Dude, you're Akatsuki now?" I asked. "How many are there left? You and my cousin?"

Kane looked at me, and I noticed a chilling amount of anger.

"We're too strong for you, Kyle." Kane said.

"I doubt...Wait, 'we'?" I asked when, suddenly, I was knocked out from behind.

Anticlimactic, eh?


	86. Chapter 86

"Ugh." I said, waking up. Karin stood over me, and forced me to stand.

"Get out of here," She said. "They'll take Nibi from you if you stay."

"And leave you here?" I asked. "You go. I'm finishing this crap once and for all."

"What?" Karin asked.

"Go to Konoha and alert my team. Then go on a date with Sai." I said. "Matchmaking Master Kyle says so!"

"A-Alright." Karin said, then hugged me. "I'll tell Annie you're coming back. Don't make me lie."

"I won't." I said, then sat on the floor, crossed my legs, and meditated as Karin used a jutsu to teleport to Konoha.

'C'mon Nibi,' I said. 'The barriers are all gone. Give me everything, and I'll give you everything. That sounds a bit gross...'

**A/N: This is Annie's POV. -MN1**

"So, you have no idea where Kyle went?" Tsunade asked.

"No. We talked, then he disappeared." I said. "He's been gone for a week. Do you think he joined the Akatsuki again?"

"They wouldn't take him." Kakashi said, leaning against the wall. "He's a jinchuriki."

"Send out search parties for him." Tsunade said. "We need to-"

The door flew open, and Karin ran in. "The Akatsuki took Kyle and now he's fighting them!" Karin shouted.

_C/N: That was a bit more blunt than I imagined... -Kyle Uchiha-Meiki_

**A/N: Back to Kyle's perspective. If you can't tell, by the way, this series will end soon. -MN1**

_'If you're gonna scream, scream with me'_ I thought the lyrics to Hybrid Moments by The Misfits as I felt Nibi completely join with me. I knew that we'd probably be fused forever.

"Huh," I said, running a finger along my teeth. I now had fangs, whisker-like scars (yes, like Naruto. Shuddup about it...), and my eyes now had split pupils. I ran my finger along the two whisker lines on my cheeks, surprised.

'I can talk aloud, but I prefer thinking instead of talking.' Nibi said.

"Alright. Go time, eh?" I chuckled nervously, then shot a giant amount of chakra against the wall. It destroyed the wall, and I saw that statue in the middle of the room, with Kane and Madara near it.

_"Smack you in your mouth make you swallow your pulp razor/Pop a couple bottles laugh about it with Bus later/Bare witness I'm the young savior!"_ I shouted.

**A/N: The song he quoted is 'Touch It Remix' by Busta Rhymes. To be specific, he quotes Papoose. -MN1**

Kane immediately ran at me, shooting lightning out of his fingers.

"That ain't gonna fly!" I shouted, then absorbed his chakra. The empty shell of his body fell to the ground, and I turned to Madara.

"I'm gonna slap the taste out of your mouth, Madara." I growled.

Madara put his hand on the statue, and looked at me angrily. "I spent years getting these tailed beasts, but if I don't do this I'll die." Madara absorbed all of the tailed-beasts, and black chakra surrounded him. "You don't have a prayer anymore, Meiki. Just give up and let me take Nibi from you so I'll have all of the beasts. Maybe then I'll kill Naruto, take the Kyubi and won't even need the moon!"

"Me and Nibi are one being now, Madara." I said, then Nibi spoke, utilizing a more animalistic part of my voice. "And besides, the tailed-beasts inside of you will rip you apart now! You'll die soon without all of the beasts!"

"I planned to take them all, anyway." Madara smiled. "Now I just need to hurry."

Madara lunged at me, sending a pure chakra attack at me. I jumped away, spitting fire at him. The chakra completely destroyed the cave, and blinding sunlight bathed Madara and I. The thing with completely joining with a tailed-beast is that, after the initial burst of power, you're still strong, but you realize just how different it is to be with a tailed-beast. I was feeling that, but I was always nuts, so it didn't mess up my system.

Madara, however, would feel the feeling tenfold. I just needed to survive his initial burst of power. Easier said than done, though.

Madara appeared right behind me, and I ducked just as he swung his claw, attempting to chop me in half. I kicked back, hitting Madara right in the family jewels. He bent over in pain and I grabbed his head, then kneed him in the face, busting his nose, then swung him around, smashing him into a sand dune.

My robotic arm fell to bits due to the damage the chakra was doing to my body, but in its place an arm grew.

"Sweet." I said, then was tackled by Madara.


	87. Chapter 87

Madara unleashed a flurry of punches while he was on top of me, but I kicked him off and jumped back, then breathed fire, shaping the fire into the form of a hundred shuriken, all heading towards Madara.

Madara used a blast of sand from the one-tailed shukaku to block my flame shuriken, then sent a wave of lava at me. I rolled to the side and sent more flames, which he blocked with sand and then sent a tidal wave of pure chakra at me, sending me flying. Madara caught up to me in midair and used a insanely powerful version of Rock Lee's Lotus, smashing me into the sand.

"That all you got!" Madara shouted, a chorus of tailed-beast screams with his voice.

"Nah." I said, standing. My wounds healed almost immediately. "Are you done warming up?"

"Yes." Madara growled with barely-restrained hate, and was about to attack when, suddenly, he collapsed, screaming.

"Guess that means I won." I said.

'Apparently so.' Nibi said, and the chakra around me faded. I looked down, and saw that my pants were now around my ankles and my shirt too small.

"Err, Nibi, what the hell?" I asked.

'You're around twenty now, Kyle. You aged when I healed you. Sorry, friend.'

"Sorry? This is..." I said, taking my shirt off and looking over my well-toned chest. The scars on my bicep from Danzo's 'tattoo removal' was still there, but I didn't mind. "Sweet! I look so cool!"

'You didn't mature, apparenlty.' Nibi said dryly. I walked over to Madara, grabbed him around the collar, and dragged him to the statue, then used the last of the extra chakra I had to quickly put all of the tailed-beasts inside of the statue. Well, most of them.

'If you put me inside the statue quickly you can go back to normal.' Nibi said, referring to my new eyes and fangs.

I shrugged. "It's good to have a voice in my head. And besides, we're friends, right?"

'This is an odd friendship, I suppose.' Nibi said, but I could tell he was happy.

I sat down, tired, next to Madara, who was silent. "Is he gonna die?"

'Possibly. For now he's alive, but nobody's home.' Nibi said, then added 'So to speak.'

"Guess some people can't handle bein' a junchiriki." I said, and leaned back. "When's the cavalry getting here?"

Several clouds of smoke appeared, and all of the teams appeared, ready to take on an army.

"You missed the epic battle." I said, poking my sharp tooth. "I won. Tailed-beasts are in the statue. World's saved."

"Kyle?" Kakashi asked.

"'Sup Sensei?" I asked, standing. "Hey, we're the same height!"

"Kyle?" Annie asked, walking over to me. I now stood head-and-shoulder above her. The perfect height, in my eyes.

"Hey." I smiled. "What'cha think?"

"You look...sexy." Annie blushed. "Where's your shirt?"

I used some chakra to burn the shirt I held behind my back.

"Destroyed in the fight." I lied, then pulled my hands out from my back and walked over to the robotic limb that fell apart. "Huh. I wonder if Kankuro can make a glove version of this that'll fit over my hand."

"I can, if you give me some time." Kankuro said, walking forward with Gaara and Temari.

"Why'd you take on Madara alone?" Temari asked, like she was scolding a younger brother.

"It seemed like a good idea..." I trailed off when she hugged me.

"Haku and I were worried!" She said.

"Sorry, Temari." I said, wondering if I could hug me back.

"Hug me back, idiot. You got two good hands."

"Oh. Right, then." I hugged her back. "Man, you should adopt me. I could call you sis."

"Just call me sis anyways." Temari said.

"Cool." I smiled. "Hey, where's Sasuke."

Sasuke walked forward, looking up to me.

"Dude, I'm the older sibling now." I smiled.

"You're still an idiot." Sasuke said, then, quickly, smiled. "Thanks for not dying."

"Anytime." I said, smiling like an idiot. Then, I fell on my back. Several people rushed forward, but then they noticed I was okay. "I'm so freakin' tired! Can Rock Lee and Guy, like, carry me or something."

"Of course, Kyle-Kun!" Rock Lee shouted.

"You can stay at the Kazekage's mansion. Haku-chan wants to see you." Gaara said.

"Alright, Lee! Let's make the trip in a day!" Guy shouted.

"Let us try for half-a-day, Guy-sensei!"

"Alright! The Eternal Flame of Youth will help us!"

"Oh god, this was a terrible idea." I said, Rock Lee giving me a piggy-back ride. "Get me offa these-!"

Suddenly, Rock Lee and Guy took off running into the sunset. Wait, it was night time! How'd they...whatever.


	88. Chapter 88

"88 chapters." I sighed. "Bet Riley didn't have to lose an arm, get both eyes changed out for other people's eyes, then have to become a jinchuriki. Not to mention the rest of the crap I got put through. Irishmen get all 'o the luck!"

I sat up in bed and saw the clothes on a shelf. I quickly got dressed, noting that the clothes were Sunagakure ninja clothes, like Baki's.

I stopped. "Who's Baki? Whatever." I walked out of the door, singing. "_Some people say my love cannot me true/ Believe me, my love, and I'll show you/ I'll give you those things you thought unreal._"

**A/N: The song is 'N.I.B.' by Black Sabbath. -MN1**

"Kyle?" Haku asked, smiling.

"'Sup Haku?" I asked, smiling also. "Man, it's...not been very long, though I got older."

Haku walked over to me and hugged me carefully.

"I think I'll name my son Kyle." Haku said. "You did save the world."

"I wouldn't name my son Kyle." I winced. "Lot of 'that's a weird names' and that crap. That, and everyone and their granny's gonna name a kid Kyle. How about Subare? I like that name."

"You named your puppet Subare."

"I did? Oh yeah. I never used my puppet, though, so does it count?"

"Yeah."

"Shoot." I said.

"I like that name too," Gaara said, walking in the room. For once he didn't have that giant gourd on his back.

"'Sup?" I asked, high-fiving Gaara. "Dude, thanks for letting me sleep in your house."

"You saved the world. It was the least I can do." Gaara said.

"I got a feeling I'm gonna hear that a lot." I said. "Where's my friends?"

"Konoha. They're getting ready to through you a party, and they want you to go there with us." Haku said.

"Cool." I said. Kankuro walked around the corner, handing me a glove. I put it on, smiling like a kid on Christmas. "Sweet!" I said, popping the blade out. "How'd you get this done so fast? And how'd you measure it so correctly?"

"You've been asleep for three days." Haku said. "Now c'mon, get some breakfast."

I finished putting the glove on, and my stomach growled loudly. "Alright."

"Aren't you going to take the glove off?" Kankuro asked, and I handed him some ryo.

"I guess. It's been a long time since I've eaten with my own two hands." I said, then I said "I wonder if my missions are going to be any less difficult now."

"Not likely." Temari said, ruffling my hair. "C'mon, Kyle. Growing boys need their food." Temari said sarcastically.

"Ha-ha, sis." I said, my voice equally sarcastic.

_Konoha._

I looked over the town atop my new house, the whole village throwing one giant party. My house was the same as the old one, but looked a bit less like a rectangle.

"Bet tomorrow everybody's got a hangover." I smiled, taking a drink of my water. "Everyone but me, I suppose."

"I won't." Annie said, stepping out of the shadows.

"Ah!" I shouted, immediately making the blade in my arm pop out. Then I sighed and said "For a ninja I freak out easy."

I stood on the railing and walked it perfectly, smiling. "Man, Nibi's cat-like reflexes are sweet."

'I believe Annie wants your attention, Kyle. On that note, I will begin looking over your memories. You are an adult, and I believe that this matter is...private.'

"Huh?" I asked, then jumped down near Annie. "What's up?"

"Well, we're both adults, and I, uh, haven't done this before...especially not with a jinchuriki."

"We're just average people. Well, I'm not. I'm a god amongst men!" I shouted, trying to get a laugh out of Annie. She giggled nervously, and moved towards me, giving me a soft kiss. Then, a longer, more passionate kiss.

"I got an idea of what you want." I said, blushing furiously. "Err...Um...Step inside, my dear. Now I sound like a vampire, and that's not the vibes I wanna put out."

"Don't worry about it." Annie said seductively.

I smiled crookedly, and followed her.

_Years later, the training field._

I woke up, rubbing my eyes under my favorite tree, then said "I dreamed my whole past. How dull." I scratched my chin, looking around the training field at my students, then stood. "AJ." I nodded at Asuma Jr, the oldest of the bunch. "Obito." I nodded at Kakashi's son. Obito wore a mask over his mouth, like his dad, and his white hair was fairly shaggy, hanging in front of his eyes. I think he had a crush on my daughter, and he was friends with my son. "And my little angel!"

"Dad." May sighed, her hair in a ponytail. Her eyes were green like mine were, but her hair was lavender. She had inherited my whiskers, so Naruto and Hinata's daughter had become friends with her. That, and they got along really well.

"Alright." I sighed. "April...No, July...What was your name, my dearest daughter May? December?"

My students laughed, and I got on my knees in front of them.

"When I was your age..." I began, and the children sighed, thinking that I was going to lecture them. "I hated lectures. But I liked ramen, and I really loved it when others paid for it. So now, follow me, and we can get some ramen."

"Yeah!" Obito shouted.

"Woo-hoo!" AJ said.

"Thanks, Dad." May said.

I smiled. "No problem," I said, following my students.

"You're not a very strict teacher." Annie said, walking over to me and holding my hand.

"We all can't graduate our students really quick." I said. "Though, I have to admit, my son looks handsome in that headband."

"Our son looks just like you!" Annie said.

"I know." I smiled, and kissed her.

"Eww!" May said.

"Look at the sun and you get burned." I shrugged.

"Nuh-uh." Obito said.

"Coming to May's aid, huh? Hey, May, should I tell him about what you said in your diary?" I asked teasingly.

"Dad!" May squealed.

"Is that a no?" I asked, then laughed.


End file.
